The Shadow's Revelation ( 2 )
by AfterDaybreak
Summary: "I've heard about NYC's secret heroes, but I had no idea they were mutant turtles." The turtles' lives get even stranger when a country girl discovers their secret and a threat from another dimension arises. And even though Raiya is on her way to becoming a full kunoichi, no amount of training could prepare her for it. Extended summary inside. TMNT 2016. (Raph X OC) (Leo X OC)
1. Extended Summary

❝ _You boys better step it up, cuz I'm starting to kick your asses._ ❞

After two years of training with Master Splinter, Raiya Carter's ninjutsu and ass-kicking skills have progressed quicker than any of the turtles'. In another year or two, she'll become a full kunoichi. But until then, she trains every day after school, hoping to one day beat one of the brothers in their daily sparring sessions.

 _❝ I'm just trying to live my dream before it's too late for me. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with anyone. ❞_

Canadian farm-girl Jasmine Taylor is living her dream of seeing the world before returning home to begin taking over the family business of running the Anderson Farm. She loves her life on the farm, but while visiting NYC she meets Leonardo and finds herself wishing for the first time that she wasn't herself, that she was normal so she could stay in the city with him. But she knows she can't, and telling him that might tear both of them apart.

-–-

❝ _The Footclan isn't dead, they're just keeping quiet until they can bust Shredder out of prison. He's gonna come back, and we need to be ready._ ❞

Footclan activity in New York City has picked up for the first time since Shredder was put behind bars, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. Raiya and the turtles are ready and willing to fight back to protect their city. But they soon discover just how divided they are.

When Shredder returns, he brings with him a threat from another dimension that has the resources to create, and essentially 'cure' mutants. The possibility of living normal lives and being human sets the brothers apart from one another.

Raphael has dreamed of living a mundane life with Raiya. When his chance finally arises, he vows to do everything he can to achieve it. But what he doesn't do is take time to consider Raiya and his brothers before his actions begin tearing them apart.

With everyone divided and a new evil on the horizon, the group has to pull themselves together if they want any chance of defeating whatever Shredder has brought to Earth.

Because this time, it's not just their lives or NYC at stake.

This time, it's the whole world.

* * *

 **CAST**

-–•–-

Sophie Turner as **Raiya Carter**

 ** _"_** _Cowabunga, bitch. **"**_

-–-

Danielle Campbell as **J.T. Anderson**

 ** _"_** _Sometimes the unexpected things turn out to be the best._ _**"**_

-–-

Laura Vandervoort as **Olivia "Liv" Carter**

 ** _"_** _Honestly…things could be worse_ _. **"**_

-–-

Stephen Amell as **Casey Jones**

 ** _"_** _I've been second_ – _no, fifth_ – _to mutant turtles this whole time?_ _ **"**_

-–-

Megan Fox as **April O'Neil**

 ** _"_** _Fair warning: I might faint_ _. **"**_

-–-

Alex O'Loughlin as **Uncle Thomas**

 ** _"_** _Is there any part of this that makes sense?_ _**"**_

-–-

Alan Ritchson as **Raphael**

 ** _"_** _The world still sucks; but at least with you, I can bear it_ _. **"**_

-–-

Pete Ploszek as **Leonardo**

 ** _"_** _I'd be crazy to think you'd stay, but I can't help but hope it might work out_ _. **"**_

-–-

Noel Fisher as **Michelangelo**

 ** _"_** _This is awesome! **"**_

-–-

Jeremy Howard as **Donatello**

 ** _"_** _Does everyone seem to forget who supplies the team with functioning brain cells?_ _**"**_

-–-

Tony Shalhoub as **Splinter**

 ** _"_** _Crime does not rest, my sons; and neither should you._ _**"**_

-–-

Gary Anthony Williams & Sheamus as **Bebop & Rocksteady**

 ** _"_** _My man! **"**_

-–-

Tyler Perry as **Baxter Stockman**

 ** _"_** _The world will know my name. **"**_

-–-

Brittany Ishibashi as **Karai**

 ** _"_** _Did you miss me, Carter? **"**_

-–-

Brad Garrett as **Krang**

 ** _"_** _Look out, Earth! It's playtime! **"**_

-–-

Brian Tee as **Shredder**

 ** _"_** _Did you really think your prisons could hold me?_ _**"**_

-–•–-

* * *

 **TRAILER**

You can view the official trailer for _The Shadow Trilogy_ at this link

[ (youtu).(be)/-oxx1p7AIKU ]

To use the link, remove the brackets and parentheses and type it into your address bar, or look it up on my youtube channel, AfterDaybreak

It's one of my first times making anything like this so obviously I'm not very good at it lol. The quality isn't great because I had to crop most of the videos lol but it's just a project I had fun making, I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE / DISCLAIMER**

Rated T for:

-Swear words

-Some scenes of graphic violence

-Some sexual activity (kissing scenes)

Everything in this story is fictional.

-–-

This story is based on the 2016 TMNT movie, but **I do not own _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ or _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ 's characters/plot!**

Raiya, J.T., and any of their relatives in the story are my characters though! I know they're hella cool but please don't steal them!

-–-

If you don't know anything about TMNT, don't sweat it, my story is written so all readers can enjoy!

In case anyone hasn't noticed yet, this is the second book in a trilogy. You will be very confused if you don't read the first book, _The Shadow's Secret._ It follows the plot of the 2014 movie and introduces Raiya and her family, so make sure you read that before reading this one!

-–-

This story is also available on my Wattpad and Quotev account if you'd like to view it there as well :)

* * *

Thanks so much for checking out my story! I hope you all enjoy it!


	2. 00

••• 影の啓示 •••

 _My life has changed._

 _Two years ago I became entangled in a world of mutants, ninjutsu and secrets when I discovered Leonardo and his family._

 _They are the shadow's secret; the protectors of New York City._

 _They defeated Shredder and saved the city._

 _But the Footclan is still alive, gathering their strength._

They will rise again.

••• 影の啓示 •••


	3. 01 Farm Life

J

* * *

"Are you scared?"

I glanced at him, sitting on an old chest where Jack's grooming box rested and petting Stitch, who sat happily beside him.

I smiled and returned to brushing off Jack. "Of what?"

"Leaving," he said. "Y'know, going everywhere alone. Aren't you scared?"

I shrugged, watching my brother over Jack's back as I ran the brush across his hindquarters. "Yeah, but I'm excited too," I grinned, "y'know?"

Sam laughed quietly, ruffling Stitch's fur.

"Are _you_ scared?" I asked.

"Only for _me,_ " he replied. "I have to deal with mum. She's not gonna stop crying and saying how worried she is about you. _And_ I'm gonna have to do your chores now." He sighed heavily. "Please come back early, I don't wanna help mum with the cows."

I rolled my eyes. "It's only a few months, dude. It'll be good for you."

He snorted. "Yeah, you can say that cuz you get to leave."

I grinned wider and rested my hand on Jack's rump as I walked around him, letting him know I was behind him and not to kick me.

"You can leave one day, too," I reminded my younger brother.

"Only once I'm out of school," Sam grumbled. "That's eight more years."

I mentally checked his quick calculation, nodding my approval. "That's some good math," I commented, impressed. Sam only shrugged, not seeming to share my appreciation.

"Don't worry," I continued. "I'll be back before Halloween."

"That's four months, though," he complained. "Summer is gonna be so _boring_."

"Seriously dude," I laughed, "you must be crushing math class."

This time, Sam sheepishly agreed. "Yeah. Dad says it's the only thing we need from school."

I smiled, remembering all the times he'd told me that as well. "Don't tell mum he told you that," I advised, recalling as well that she didn't entirely share that opinion with our father.

"Yeah I know," he said, smiling and rubbing Stitch's ears lovingly. "Dad already told me not to."

Finished with the dandy brush, I tossed it into Jack's black, plastic grooming box beside Sam and grabbed the much softer body brush. Smiling, I reached a hand down to pet Stitch, who stared up at me expectantly, his tongue lolling out the side of his open mouth as he panted from the June heat.

"I'm gonna miss you," I said to the border collie, rubbing his cheek roughly, to which he responded by leaning into my hand and trying to lick my arm. I smiled and returned to grooming Jack. I was going to miss him as well. And Lilo and Otis and Maizey and Cathy. But not being able to ride Jack for the next few months was likely going to kill me. I wasn't too worried about missing my parents—especially not mum. I knew she'd call me every hour or so, starting the moment I'd leave her sight. I'd miss hanging out with Sam the most, though. He always helped make chores around the farm seem less like painstaking work. Plus, he was really my only friend that wasn't an animal. Leaving him behind meant I'd be lonely until I returned home or somehow managed to make new friends during my travels.

"Sam?"

My brother looked up from rubbing Stitch's belly. "Hmm?"

I tossed the body brush to him over Jack's back. "Can you throw me the face brush, please?" I asked.

He swapped the soft brush out for a much smaller version and threw it to me as per my request.

I snatched it from the air and moved to my horse's face. "Thanks."

Sam and I had thrown so many things around Jack that it no longer spooked him as long as it was over his back or in front of him.

Jack tugged at the cross ties in an attempt to nuzzle against me. I grinned and ran the brush in the direction of the hairs on his cheek while I stroked the irregular white blaze marking on his forehead. He nickered and leaned into my touch. This was Jack's way of letting me know he loved whatever it was that I was doing, but I already knew he loved being groomed and petted.

"Are you gonna see the Goonies place?" Sam asked, referring to one of his favourite movies, which was filmed along the western coast of the United States in Oregon.

"Yup. That'll be my last stop after seeing where they filmed Twilight."

He wrinkled his nose and spoke with utter disgust. "I _hate_ those movies."

I laughed, gently brushing Jack's forehead. "Me too."

"Then why are you going there?"

I shrugged. "Why not? I'll be there anyway so I might as well."

"Are you going to any other movie places?"

"Well I'm stopping in New York City for two weeks right before Oregon, and every movie in the world is filmed there, so yeah."

"Like the Avengers? And Spider-Man?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

Of all of our family members, Sam loved movies the most. He'd spend all night watching them if he didn't have to get up early every day to help with the morning chores.

Finished with grooming, I ducked under the crossties clipped to Jack's halter and dropped the face brush into his grooming box.

"What kind of souvenir do you want?" I asked, grabbing a hoof pick.

"I dunno. Something cool like a real shark tooth or something. But no shirts or anything." He inhaled sharply with excitement. "What about a knife?"

"You _have_ a pocket knife," I argued, bending over beside Jack's right foreleg. I ran a hand down his leg to his fetlock and he lifted his hoof for me.

"Multi-tool," Sam corrected. "But it's not from Europe or anywhere _cool_."

I rolled my eyes and carefully picked stones and muck from Jack's hoof. Then flipped the pick and used the brush to remove any smaller debris. I checked for any injuries, cracks or bruising before moving to Jack's other foreleg.

"I have to do this _every day?_ " Sam muttered, watching me work.

"Yup. And try to exercise him every day, too."

"Can't Warren do it instead? Or Cole?"

"If Dad's okay with his farmhands ditching him to take care of a horse."

"Technically, they'd still be working," he argued.

"Dude, it's not that bad. Cara will come by once school starts to help you out. But you can totally get out of some chores by saying you need to groom Jack. If you want, you can exercise him by riding him around the farm while you're working. Unless it's really hot, then make sure you keep him in the shade and hydrated and–"

"I'm not _stupid_ , I know how to take care of him. I've been watching you do it forever."

I released Jack's hoof and shot Sam an unimpressed look over the black-brown quarter horse's back. "Yeah, you _have_ been watching me forever. Why don't you make yourself useful and start cleaning his bridle?"

He sighed dramatically, but stood up from his seat on the chest and trudged into the tack room in search of the cleaning supplies.

I tossed my ponytail over my shoulder before leaning down to pick another one of Jack's hooves. Once I finished both hind hooves, I returned the hoof pick to the plastic grooming box and ventured into the tack room to put it back on its shelf. The room was small and mostly empty save for a dusty western saddle, a few old saddle pads and spare bridles and reins that hadn't been used since Dad's last horse passed away a few years ago. There was still a green grooming box labelled Monty, collecting dust on the shelf beside Jack's.

Grabbing a fresh peppermint from a jar by the door, I left the musty, leather-scented room and returned to where Jack was still strung up in the crossties in the barn's wide hall. Sam was sitting on the chest, scrubbing away at Jack's bridle with a wet, soapy brush while Stitch lay on the ground beside him. Jack nickered and stretched his head out toward me. Smiling, I stroked his forehead and fed him the peppermint, murmuring praise for behaving himself the whole time. I unclipped a crosstie from his halter, then hooked my fingers under his halter where the lead line would clip and detached the other crosstie.

Sam didn't even have to look up at me to know. "Mum doesn't like it when you do that," he mumbled.

"Mum doesn't like it when I do _anything_ ," I mused, guiding Jack into his open stall. I turned us around so we faced the front before releasing him, slipping his blue halter off and locking the door behind me. I hung the halter on a hook right beside his stall where his lead line also resided. I double checked his water bucket was full before sitting down beside my brother and setting about cleaning Jack's saddle, starting with removing the stirrups. I hated cleaning tack. I hated how my hands were oily and smelled like leather conditioner for hours. But it had to be done after every ride, so there was no avoiding it.

We worked in silence, scrubbing and rinsing until Stitch had trotted out of the barn in search of something more interesting and the hands on the clock beside the bathroom we're nearing my departure time. _Mum's gonna be calling for me any minute._

Sure enough, just as Sam and I finished rubbing in leather conditioner, I heard Mum calling my name from the porch of the farmhouse. I didn't bother replying. I knew she was already on her way to the barn in search of me.

"Five bucks she's already crying," Sam said, carefully reassembling the bridle in his hands.

"Twenty says she's gonna be in the next two minutes," I challenged.

But Sam was no gambler and backed out as he always did. "No way."

I didn't blame the kid, the only money he had was from the Tooth Fairy.

"Jasmine!" Mum's farm boots sounded on the concrete floor of the barn as she entered.

"I know," I replied, standing with the newly cleaned saddle in my hands.

She hurried over, smiling sadly at me. "We should leave in fifteen minutes."

"I know," I said again, looping Jack's bridle on my arm and balancing the cleaning supplies box atop the saddle. "I'm ready."

I returned everything to the tack room and the moment I reemerged my mother exploded into tears. I grinned knowingly at Sam, who'd smartly just saved himself twenty precious dollars.

"Mum, you shouldn't be crying yet," I laughed. "We haven't even left the _barn_."

"I'm your mother," she sobbed, wiping tears off her cheeks. "I'm allowed to cry."

I smiled and patted her shaking shoulder. "I'm gonna have a quick shower before we leave." I took one step toward the exit before quickly spinning on my heel and rushing back to Jack's stall. I probably wouldn't have enough time later to see him. I unlatched the door and let myself in. His ears swivelled toward me and he turned his head a little.

"Hey, Jack," I murmured, reaching out to pet his soft neck. "I'm not gonna be around for a while so make sure you're good for me while I'm gone, 'kay? Cara and Sam are gonna look after you, so try to be a gentleman." I sighed and scratched his cheek. "I wish I didn't have to leave you, bud. I love you and I'm gonna miss you a lot...But I get to see the world, just like I've always wanted to." With tears stinging behind my eyes, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug. "I'll be back in four months."

* * *

 **AN: _THE SHADOW'S REVELATION_ HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN! YAYAYAY! I'm so excited you guys ahhh! **

**So I wasn't too sure about adding J.T.'s POV to the story but I figured it's kinda necessary so here you have it! I'm really hoping her character doesn't seem too similar to Raiya's.**

 **Sorry this has taken me so long to write and post, but I've been trying to focus on my other stories that I've kinda been neglecting due to writer's block lol but I finally decided that you guys TOTALLY DESERVE THIS FIRST CHAPTER and I was just too excited to see what you guys thought of it to keep it to myself for any longer haha so please make sure you review and let me know what you think of my girl J.T.!**

 **If you'd like a visual, J.T.'s face claim is Danielle Campbell. J.T.'s horse Jack can be found by looking up Danielle Campbell Race to Win in Google Images. He's the black-brown horse (not the bay).**

 **And just in case anyone is interested in reading the very first draft of _The Shadow's Secret_ , I've posted it as the last, most recent chapter of TSS on my profile. It's only 19,000 words, so don't worry about it taking up too much of your time lmao**

 **Anyways, please review! I'm really excited to hear everyone's thoughts!**


	4. 02 LED Midnight

R

* * *

New York City was lit up like a Christmas Tree, just as it was every night. LED signs, bright lampposts, soft glows in building windows and digital billboards chased away the darkness of the October night. It would have been nice had the music not been absolute shit.

"This," I declared, "is the shittiest playlist I've ever heard."

Casey scoffed. "My playlist is _sick._ "

"Step one to getting a girl is officially burning this CD."

"If my girl doesn't like my music then she's not gonna be my girl." He shrugged, glanced at me in the passenger seat. "Simple."

I lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And how's that goin' for ya?"

"I may or may not have a date on Monday," he admitted smugly.

"Oh _God,_ Jones," I shook my head, utterly unimpressed with him. "You are such a bullshitter. You haven't even asked her out yet, have you?"

"Hey." He meant to sound stern, but I saw through it. "I'm working on it, alright? Cut me some slack, Carter, at least I have intentions of making a move."

I shrugged and leaned back into the comfy leather seat, appearing completely unconcerned by his words despite the compelling urge to tell him the truth. "I just want to be friends." The lie was smooth and perfectly practiced. "Besides, if I ever want Raph to ask me out I just have to drop some hints. I don't have to make _any_ moves. That's his job."

"I don't like that," Casey complained. "That's not fair. Why do guys always have to make the first move?"

"Some girls will. But it's not my kinda thing." _I'm too lazy for that shit. Just gimme a time and an appropriate outfit on a scale of pyjamas to wedding and I'll be ready._

"So you're saying that after two years of hanging out with this guy, you seriously don't _like_ like him?"

"No!" _Lie_. "Jesus, Casey. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"I'm just making sure!" He laughed.

"Why? Worried April's not gonna fall for you and you're gonna have to deal with never getting to first base with her?" I teased.

"That would be sad," Casey agreed solemnly.

I shook my head, smiling. "You've only known her for like a month. Try not to seem so desperate."

"I think every word you've said to me so far has been insulting."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh, that's really mature," he mused. "Stick your tongue out at the person who's driving out of their way to make sure _you_ don't get mugged. You know," he continued. "I have to deal with your shit _every time_ –"

"Just drop me off here!" I yelled over him, fighting my rising smile. "I'll walk myself!"

"Fine!" He wrenched the car over to park at the curb.

I didn't hesitate, throwing the car door open and jumping out onto the sidewalk. I spun, slammed the door shut.

"Asshat," I muttered, already walking away.

"Piece of shit!" He shouted back. It was hard to contain my laughter, but I managed to not look back when I heard his car engine rev. Though I never saw or heard him drive away as I walked. I knew Casey wouldn't leave me to walk home alone this late at night, even if it was barely a block away. _He's a good friend._

Without looking his way, I stuck my hand up and flipped him off. Instantly, I received a long honk in return. I grinned, reaching my apartment building's front door and swinging it open. Only then did the black Dodge Challenger race down the street and disappear into the night.

I shook my head, smiling to myself and pulled my phone out to check the time. _12:16. Just two more hours_. I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor before leaning against the back wall for the ride up. Every time I rode an elevator some childish part of me desperately wanted to push every single button and see them all light up. So every time I had to make sure I stepped away from the buttons and focused on something else. Usually, it was my phone, but I was too excited to focus on anything except for how stupidly _excited_ I was. After a month of zero communication I was finally going to see the brothers tonight. Assuming they didn't miss their flight. Or that they were still alive. _Happy thoughts, Raiya._

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I walked off, looking down at my phone and checking for any messages, wondering if Liv was back from her date yet. _Nothing._

I grabbed my keys from my pocket and unlocked the apartment door, swinging it closed behind me and kicking my shoes off. I grinned when I found a familiar pair of men's shoes and a dog leash lying on the ground. I just about ran into the living room in search of the Border Terrier I knew resided somewhere inside the dark apartment.

"Raiya?" Liv's voice came from the couch. In reply, I kneeled on the ground and threw my arms open. Not a moment later, Kota was in my lap, furiously wagging his tail and placing his paws on my chest so he could lick my chin.

"Hi!" I cried happily, petting every inch of the excited ball of fur.

"I can't believe you say hi to my dog before us," Andy mused, sitting on the couch next to Olivia, who was curled up under a blanket.

"Maybe because he's more excited to see me than you guys are," I pointed out, playing with Kota's floppy ears and rubbing his cheeks.

"She works at a zoo," Liv muttered to her boyfriend. "Of course she likes animals more than people."

"Yeah, because animals can't insult me."

"I'm feeling insulted," Andy argued. "My dog just left me for you."

I smirked and kissed Kota's nose, narrowly avoiding his tongue.

"We got a new neighbour across the hall," Olivia mentioned, probably expecting me to be excited by the news. I just laughed.

"That sucks. You guys watched a movie?" I asked, nodding to the TV which was currently rolling credits.

"Yeah."

"We were both kinda tired from work," Liv admitted, shrugging sheepishly.

"So we watched some weird movie about a girl hiding people in her basement," Andy concluded, grinning at Olivia, who kicked him lightly.

"She was saving them from the Nazis," my sister corrected, then turned to me. "We watched The Zookeeper's Wife."

"Sounds boring." I wrapped Kota up in a huge hug and pulled him against my chest, making him squirm and paw at me.

Andy shrugged and leaned back into the couch's cushions. "It wasn't bad."

"It was so good!"

I released the little Terrier, who—now significantly riled up—jumped away from me and lowered himself into a play position before launching himself at me. Laughing, I lifted my arm up in defence so he could chew on it. Olivia watched me with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

"You know what looks good? Ragnarok."

Liv raised an unimpressed brow. "The new Thor?"

"I don't know," Andy mumbled. "It looks kinda weird. Like some...retro...colourful, superhero show." He seemed unsure of his wording choice.

"It looks anime-y," Liv added.

"Thor gets a haircut," I said, making my sister immediately perk up. "And there's a shirtless scene." Kota placed a paw on my arm as he gnawed on my fingers and lied down, as if ensuring my arm wouldn't run away from him.

"Well, when does it come out!?"

I swung my hand from side to side, dragging Kota's head along as he clung to me with his teeth and growled lightly.

"Next month," I replied.

Andy watched his Terrier carefully. "Make sure he doesn't get too rough," he reminded me. I nodded and lifted my other hand to pet the dog. Kota released his hold and tried to grab it. He latched onto my wrist with a growl as I petted his shoulder.

"Why do you always let him bite you?" Olivia asked.

"Cuz he likes it." I lifted my other hand to draw Kota's attention. He jumped to his feet and lunged at it, grabbing my index finger with a wagging tail. "And it's fun. Watch this." I yanked my hands away from him and clasped them behind my back while ordering him to sit. Kota let out a small bark of dismay, but sat in front of me obediently. I jerked my chin at him. " _Kiss._ "

The Border Terrier shot to his feet, climbed up onto my lap, placed both front paws on my chest and reached his head up to press his mouth against my lips. Liv gasped, probably in disgust. Kota hopped off and sat back down to stare at me.

"Good boy!" I cried, unclasping my hands to ruffle his fur and pet him. He wagged his tail and partly closed his eyes from my petting, a sign of happiness.

"That is so gross," Liv said. Though her boyfriend thought differently.

"That's awesome!" He cried. "When did you teach him that?"

I shrugged, rubbing Kota's ears. "I've been working on it for a month but last week he started getting really good at it."

He nodded appreciatevely. "Nice. What are you gonna teach him next?"

"I think 'hug.' Right, Kota?" I scratched under his chin and tilted his head up to look at me. "That'd be cute." Kota blinked and licked his flews.

"How'd the game go?" Liv asked.

"Oh, we won five to four," I said, smiling when Kota sneezed once, then twice. "Only one fight this time."

"Who started it?"

"Casey."

"Of course he did."

Kota rolled onto his side so I could scratch his stomach.

"How was school?" Andy asked.

I groaned. "Horrible. My stupid group ditched class so I had to present alone. And I have _so_ much social homework." I sighed and lied down beside Kota, already dreading tomorrow.

"I remember high school," Liv mused with feigned wistfulness for no other reason than to piss me off. It worked.

"Fuck off," I muttered, making Andy laugh.

"I should go," he said, standing from the couch and stretching. Liv got to her feet as well, clutching the baby blue, ice cream-patterned blanket around her hunched shoulders like the mature, twenty-four year-old woman she was. Kota lifted his head to look at his master, ears perked, head tilted, awaiting a command.

"I gotta steal him from you," Andy said to me with a half grin, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Sorry."

I shrugged and ruffled the Terrier's coarse fur once more before standing up. Kota glanced at me with sad eyes that almost made my heart break. I wanted to hug him. Andy whistled and the dog was on his paws and by his master's side in a blink, watching for another command with a wagging tail. I knew that Andy—out of decency and courtesy—wouldn't kiss my sister in front of me, so I said my goodbye and left the two of them alone before retreating to my room to shower for the night and await the turtles' return.

••• 影の啓示 •••

A vibration on my left ear woke me from my light sleep. I shot up in my bed, lifting my hand to press the earpiece disguised as a stud earring in my tragus piercing.

"Yeah?" My voice was scratchy from sleeping. When Leo's voice came through my face almost broke from my huge grin.

 _"Sorry to wake you,"_ he said. _"But I thought you'd wanna know that we landed a few minutes ago and we're all alive."_

"Yeah, thanks. You guys too jet lagged or are you up for a visitor?"

He laughed. _"That's why I'm on the roof."_

I grinned and threw my bedcovers off. "I'm on my way."

* * *

 **AN: Hey y'all! I'm so sorry it's been a while since I've updated! I've been trying to update my other two stories and prep for school at the same time. Kill me lol**

 **So here's the first chapter in Raiya's POV! The story is mostly gonna be told by her but there is gonna be some J.T. POV. I also thought I'd be nice to introduce Casey and Raiya's two year friendship to the story, along with Andy's relationship with the girls! Him and Liv are so cute omg. And plus, do y'all love Kota or what!? Sorry Raiya didn't see Raph in this chapter, but she will in the next! As well as a cute little surprise ;)**

 **Please lemme know how you guys liked chapter two! Did you spot the foreshadowing? Can you guess the surprise next chap? Please review! Love you guys! :D**


	5. 03 Red

R

* * *

I crawled out through my window and onto the roof, hardly able to contain my excitement long enough to slide it shut behind me. I spun and rushed towards Leonardo, who wrapped me up in a tight hug.

"Did you miss me?" He teased.

"Go back to Australia," I mumbled. His resulting laugh told me that he knew as well as I did that I didn't mean it. Leo released me with a big smile.

"How've you been?"

I shrugged. "Bored. Tired. Dying at school and work every day. The usual." I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket. "What about you? How was it Down Under?"

"Warmer than here. Everyone talked really weird, too.

"I love their accents," I said, grinning and speaking in an Australian accent, "they're really sweet."

"Don't," he begged. "Please, no. I don't wanna deal with you and your accents already, let's just go."

My grin was interrupted by a long yawn. "Sorry," I said, blinking hard to rid the heaviness from my eyelids. "I've been really tired lately. The others are already at the lair?"

But suddenly, there was that brotherly concern that'd been present since the day I met him.

"You sure you wanna come, Raiy? You should get some sleep."

I just smiled and shrugged, not wanting to worry him. But he was already worried.

"Have they been getting worse?"

I considered lying to him, but over the past two years Leo had developed this uncanny way of detecting every one of my lies, so I knew it was pointless.

"Yeah," I admitted quietly, looking down at my feet. "But I think it was because I was worried about you guys."

He watched me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "It's fine, Leo, it's not even your fault. Let's just go."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" _It's not like I could sleep anyways._

"Alright," he was grinning now, but still waiting for any sign of hesitation or reluctance from me. "Raph really wants to see you. It's kinda gross, actually."

"Absolutely _disgusting_ ," I agreed sarcastically, following him across the roof.

"It is. He would've came to get you himself, but he's a bit _preoccupied_."

I had to fight off another yawn. "Preoccupied with _what?_ " I asked suspiciously. But that evil turtle's only intention was to pique my curiosity and piss me off by refusing to elaborate.

"Oh, nothing," he replied dismissively, then changed the subject. "I'll brief you on the mission when we get to the lair."

"You're such a dickhead."

••• 影の啓示 •••

The explosions from the Footclan's attack on the lair two years ago, unfortunately, left it irreparable, forcing the mutants to search for a new place. It took a while, but after a few weeks, Mikey came across what would soon become their new home. And by the end of the summer, they'd successfully transformed it. And maybe it was just my familiarity with the sewer's atmosphere, but the new location didn't seem to smell nearly as bad as the last.

Leo hopped over the turnstiles in the circular entrance to the lair and turned left, up the stairs to the first landing where the turtles and Sensei sat talking around two mismatched picnic tables. I followed close on his heels, anxious to see them. I heard one of the chairs fall over with a metallic clatter and then Mikey was pushing his brother aside to tackle me in his signature bear hug.

"Raiya! Oh man, I missed you!"

I laughed and hugged him back. "Hey, Mikey. I missed you too. It's been quiet without you around."

"Really?" He released me from his death grip, grinning broadly.

"Yes," Splinter agreed. "It's been quite relaxing."

I slapped a hand over my mouth, unable to believe the savagery Splinter had employed so calmly in that burn. The others were loving it. Leo and Raphael exploded in laughter. Donnie had the same reaction as me, while Splinter smiled amusedly. I guess years of listening to the boys bickering taught him something.

"You need some ice for that burn?" I teased, elbowing the youngest turtle. But he was too busy staring in awe at his father.

"When did Sensei get so savage?" He mused. I shrugged and stepped past him and Leo, smiling at Donnie.

"Hey, D." I held out my hand, hitting his open palm then the back of our hands together, fist bumping then flattening my hand and hooking our thumbs, and releasing to finger gun upwards in unison; a handshake we'd created as an alternative greeting when I discovered the reason Donnie was so awkward with hugging was that he didn't particularly like it.

Raphael stood from his seat, walking in my direction around the table and scooping me up into a hug. I grinned, throwing my arms around his neck and burying my face in the hollow of his neck, inhaling his smell and feeling his heart beating with mine after _so long_.

"I missed you," I whispered.

He squeezed me tighter. "Missed you too, Em."

 _Holy hell_. Even after two years, my heart still caught on that name. Something tickled my hand—a hair. _Oh my–_

"Holy shit!" Immediately, I jumped out of Raph's arms, crying: "there's a rat on you!"

Mikey started laughing, and I shot him a glare. _Rats are huge!_

"I know," Raph said flatly. "It's annoying the hell outa me."

I stared at him incredulously, my eyes saying _what the hell?_ Confused, I watched him reach a hand behind his head and bring it away with a ball of silver and black and white fur clinging to it.

"We found him right before we left."

"Oh my god." I stared down at the sugar glider joey. Its long black tail and perked ears and shiny black eyes and tiny, tiny hands. Everything about him was just so small. His pink little nose, his face, his whiskers. My heart clenched because the poor guy was _too_ small. "He's too small," I said, looking up at Raph, then glancing at the brothers, who watched in interest. "He shouldn't be away from his parents for another month."

"We found him making some weird noise in the middle of the night," Leo explained.

"He was by his mom's body," Donnie finished.

Mikey nodded sadly and watched me with hopeful blue eyes. "But you know how to take care of him, right?"

"Sugar Gliders are illegal in the city," I pointed out, but Leo was prepared with an alternative.

"We were thinking you could give him to the zoo, if it's not too much trouble."

 _The zoo?_ Quickly, I ran the scenario through my head:

 _Hey, my friends illegally brought an orphaned sugar glider joey from Australia and were wondering if you could take him off their hands even though they're totally illegal to own here! You interested?_ Worst case scenario they say no and report me and the authorities kill the glider. _Shit, I can't risk that happening. But I can't illegally take care of him either, Liv would kill me and if I get caught I'll get in way more trouble. I can't risk that either…So which is the lesser evil?_

I sighed. "Yeah. Okay, I'll call and ask if they can take him." I looked down at the glider curled up in Raphael's palm, unable to believe how cute he was with his forefeet wrapped around one of the turtle's large fingers. "He likes you?"

"Yeah."

Mikey picked his chair off the ground and plopped down in it. "Bro's been chilling on Raph's head ever since we found him," he said absently, picking up a slice of pizza and shoving half of it in his mouth.

My eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Really?"

Donnie nodded. "I believe he's identified Raph as his new mother."

Raphael frowned, not liking that particular word, or the thought of having a child, probably. But it sure made Mikey snicker.

"That would make sense," I agreed, my eyes falling back to the glider, who was staring up at me with his dark, wide-set eyes, nose twitching and ears perked. I reached a tentative hand out slowly, allowing him to sniff my fingers before gently petting him.

"Holy shit," I murmured, making Raphael laugh. "He is _so_ soft." The glider began furiously sniffing at my bracelet, a simple cord of red braided leather that looped twice around my wrist; a gift from Raphael before he left for Australia.

Then, the sugar glider was sniffing the sleeve of my red hoodie.

 _God, I wear a lot of red._

"Do you think he likes red?" I asked, holding my arm stationary as he migrated closer to it.

"No," Raphael replied dryly, his single word carrying more sarcasm than mine did. I grinned, feeling the tickle of the glider's claws gripping my thumb. He climbed into the palm of my hand, grasping and chewing on my bracelet.

"That's no fair," Mikey pouted. "He wouldn't even let me touch him."

"Raiya works at a zoo," Leo pointed out. "She's better with animals than with people. Of course it likes her."

" _It_ is a _he_ ," I corrected, sitting down between Donnie and Raph. "And _he_ is officially Red. And why are people assuming my job at a zoo gave me my abilities? I was _born_ an animal whisperer."

Raph snorted and I kicked him under the table for it, ensuing an intense game of footsies.

"How'd the mission go?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could manage, trying to keep my focus divided equally between Red, winning footsies, and talking with the others.

"Boring," Mikey grumbled. Donnie nodded his agreement, sipping one of his favourite Japanese juice boxes.

"We didn't find anything," Leo admitted bitterly. "They weren't in their usual black getup so it wasn't easy to find them. And even when we did, we couldn't get close. They never moved at night and they never left the city. We tried following up every night, but we never found anything. It took Donnie three days to get into the traffic cameras–"

Said turtle all but slammed his juice box on the table. "There were triple the regulated amount of firewalls and I almost got a virus twice! Not to mention I've never hacked anything remotely Australian before! One wrong move and they would've locked us out of the system and tracked us down before we could say chimichanga." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, frowning deeply.

"Sounds like they were expecting you guys," I said, petting Red and kicking blindly at Raphael's foot.

Leonardo nodded, his eyes lighting up while the gears in his head turned. "I think they were," he agreed. "Why else would they be so careful? Daytime has the most risk and it's the only time they did anything. I've never seen the Foot so organized, they used decoys, fake identities, disguises, false leads, they even threatened the locals to keep quiet." He clenched his hands into fists. "They know how we work and they know how to keep us in the dark. They're not taking any chances this time."

"Yeah, cuz last time we kicked their butts," Mikey added knowledgeably, licking pizza sauce off his fingers.

"I wish I could've gone with you guys," I muttered, watching Red carefully crawl further up my arm. I bit my lip, containing my annoyance when Raph successfully kicked my ankle. "So you didn't find anything?"

The leader shook his head solemnly.

"They were looking for someone," Raph announced loudly, the first thing he'd said in a while surprising me enough to halt our game of footsie.

"We don't know that," Leo argued. It sounded as if they'd had this argument before. Multiple times.

"Well why else would they move to that shit hole?" He countered. "I didn't see them trying to blow anything up. Did you?" When his brother had no answer, he continued. "They didn't buy or trade anything, Donnie checked. So if they weren't trying to kill anyone, and they didn't buy any illegal weapons or some shit, why else would they be there? To admire the sand and melt their skin off?"

"Maybe it was intel," Leo offered.

His brother scoffed. "What would some dude across the world know that someone in New York doesn't?"

"It could've been a decoy mission," Donnie interjected. "To throw us off or distract us from something."

"They wouldn't pack their shit and fly to that desert without a reason."

 _I would,_ I thought to myself, recalling that Australia was very high on the list of places I wanted to see.

"Can't you track their flight?" I asked, petting Red as he nestled into a fold of my hoodie on my arm. "Donnie found their flight last time, can't you just do that again and see if they brought anything back? Maybe jack their ride, too."

The genius mulled over the idea for a moment, weighing the possibilities and whatnot, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "I mean, I–I guess, yeah. I could try. It might be impossible to tell, but I'll keep an eye on air traffic."

Leo nodded appreciatively, then said to me, "good call."

I grinned, sending a silent 'thanks' his way.

"So what'd you do without us?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I almost failed my first social exam," I recalled grimly. "So that was good. Um, but other than that, nothing exciting."

Leo raised an inquisitive brow. "You been training?"

"Hell yeah. I'm gonna kick your ass tomorrow. Right, Sensei?"

Everyone's attention turned to the rat, who hadn't contributed to the conversation in a while.

Initially, I was shocked. But then I almost exploded with laughter. "Is he _asleep?_ "

Leo was laughing quietly as he stared at Splinter, sleeping soundly in his chair. "Yeah."

"You guys must've tired him already," I joked, petting Red and allowing him to grasp my index finger in his hands. "I should probably get back anyways. I got a shitload of homework to do tomorrow and I gotta call about Red."

"Already?" Mikey tilted his head back and released a loud groan, making me laugh.

"I'll be back tomorrow," I said, standing from my seat with Red still attached to my hoodie sleeve. Raphael got to his feet as well, which I didn't protest.

I held up my hand in a half wave goodbye. "I'll see you later."

* * *

 **AN: I'm really sorry this took so long, but to make up for it, I made the chapter extra long!**

 **Isn't Red adorable? Lolll I think it's hella cute that Raiya named him Red.**

 **oMFG YOU GUYS** **RAIYA AND RAPH ARE TOO CUTE**

 **AHHHHH DID Y'ALL CATCH HIS CUTE ASS NICKNAME FOR HER!?**

 **HE LITERALLY CALLS HER EM BECAUSE IF Y'ALL REMEMBER FROM TSS RAIYA MENTIONED SHE GOES BY HER MIDDLE NAME WHILE HER FIRST NAME IS ACTUALLY EMMALYN I CAAAANT AHHH**

 **Mmkay so I made a map of the turtles' new lair, it's on my Flickr (AfterDaybreak) and Quotev (AfterDaybreak) if you wanna check it out. It's not to scale and I couldn't get the dimensions and angles and shit exactly right so it's not super accurate but whatever lol it took forever to make.**

 **Anyways,** **I'm back in school, which sucks ass but it's my last year so at least that's good. I'm gonna be spending a lot of my time not failing my classes, so updates are gonna be slow.. even though they're already kinda slow lol sorry!** **But ya girl finally got her license! so now I get to drive my ratchet ass car to school every day and im so (not) excited.**

 **I have to deal with this annoying guy in my photography class for the third year in a row and I'm so done with him but I'm too nice to tell him to leave me alone so I have to pretend he's my best friend and it's honestly killing me. Just my luck that the only guy that notices me is annoying af and cant take a fcking hint ugghhh**

 **But there's this hella cute guy in my math class and hes smart and we were dance partners in PE class a few years ago and hes so nice but he looks right through me so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ that sucks but I'll keep y'all updated on this guy lol Operation: I Need A Grad Date is a go**

 **WOW I got off topic.**

 **I love you guys and I hope you all enjoyed this loooong chapter!**

 **Please review! :D**


	6. 04 Catching Up

R

* * *

"I can't believe you're a mother."

"Shut up," Raphael muttered. I grinned to myself as we walked through the sewers side by side, comfortable in the familiar silence between us.

"It was so weird when you were gone."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It didn't feel right not being here for so long."

"Was it at least cool?" I was still so mad I couldn't go with them. Australia had been on my bucket list forever and I could've helped out so much by going out in the daytime into the cities and towns and gathering all the intel they couldn't.

He shrugged. "Sorta. The ride there was terrible, but when we finally landed it was pretty cool. Hot as hell though, why do you wanna go there? You'd burn your face off."

"I lived in Arizona until I was twelve," I argued. "I know how to survive a place like Satan's armpit."

He released a small sigh and shook his head. "You're so fuckin weird."

I smirked knowingly and bumped my shoulder against his arm. "You missed it."

He chuckled. "Hell yeah I did." And then Raphael was grabbing my hand and pulling me in close, his lips crashing down on my own with hunger and ferocity that I returned without pause. His hand slid down to the small of my back, drawing me closer. Flames erupted in my stomach. I smiled into the kiss and stood on my tiptoes, looping my arms around his neck. It'd been so long. _So_ long.

A vibration in my pocket brought me back down to reality.

I pulled away from him for a moment, breathing heavily. "Raph–"

He shook his head, growled a "no" before pressing another hard kiss to my mouth.

 _Oh, God._ Breaking away again, I brought my hands to either side of his face and tilted my head away from him. "Raph, I–"

He ignored me and proceeded to place breathy kisses along my jaw. _Holy shit._

"Raph," I murmured, finally catching my breath. "Hang on for a sec, she's calling."

With an irritated growl, he loosened his secure embrace around me.

"I'm sorry," I said, pulling my phone from the pocket in my leggings. "It's important." Quickly, I kissed the scar above his lip before answering the call from my manager.

"Hey, Lauren," I said, trying my best to sound like my heart wasn't just racing a second ago. Raphael pulled me back against his chest and nuzzled his face into my neck, making my breath catch in my throat.

 _"Hey, I got your text. What's up?"_

"Uh, I have a bit of an issue," I admitted sheepishly, doing my best to ignore Raph. "My friends just came back from Australia, and while they were there they found an orphaned sugar glider joey."

I bit my lip hearing her gasp on the other end of the line.

"They brought him back," I continued, a little nervous. "Which I know is totally illegal, I already gave them shit for it. Anyways, I have him with me right now, he's asleep in my hoodie."

 _"Awww."_

I laughed. "I know, he's so freakin cute. But he's definitely too young to be away from his mother, and I have no idea what to do with him now...and I was _kinda_ hoping the zoo could take him?"

Raph pressed his lips to my neck, his warm breath tickling my skin and ear and setting my heart racing. He was driving me absolutely crazy and it took everything in me to focus on the call.

Lauren's silence was beginning to worry me by the time she finally said something.

 _"Raiya...you know there isn't much I can do without getting you or your friends in some serious trouble."_

I sighed and tried pushing Raphael away, but only ended up encouraging him. "I know," I said. "But I can't just turn him in, they'll probably just kill him."

Lauren fell silent again, this time longer than before. My pulse quickened with each passing second. "Hello?"

 _"Sorry,"_ Lauren replied. _"I'm just trying to find something..."_

When I felt him bite the skin at the base of my spine, I lowered my phone and smacked his arm. "Stop it!" I hissed, making him laugh in response.

 _"You are one lucky duck,"_ Lauren mused, clicking her tongue. _"A colony of five sugar gliders was recently rescued from illegal animal traffickers and we're set to receive them this Sunday."_

"You're kidding."

She laughs. _"Nope. I don't think it'll be a problem to let another joey join them. I'll send some emails and see what I can do."_

"Lauren you're a _blessing!_ " I cried, still trying to shove Raph off of me.

 _"I can't promise that it'll work out,"_ she warned. _"But I'll do my best."_

"Thank you so much," I gushed, "this means _so_ much to me."

 _"No problem, Raiy. I'll let you know when I get a response."_

"Okay, thanks again! I'll see you on Sunday."

I listened for the line to go dead before dropping my phone into my pocket with a long, annoyed groan. "You're _ridiculous_ ," I complained, wriggling out of his arms.

"You liked it," he protested smugly, following me down the tunnel.

I felt my cheeks flush. "Not while I'm trying to make an important call. And you know I don't like making out down here. It's _nasty_."

"You still liked it."

"Shut up."

He shrugged. "Fine."

After a few minutes of quiet, I couldn't handle it.

"I bet I can beat you there," I challenged.

Raphael laughed. "You can try."

••• 影の啓示 •••

I collapsed on the roof outside my bedroom window, chest heaving and heart pounding. _God, I hate cardio._

Raphael appeared on the roof a moment later looking mildly annoyed as he walked over.

"I...I beat you!" I declared, hardly able to process enough oxygen to speak.

"Yeah, cuz you don't gotta worry about being seen," he grumbled. "There were people everywhere, I could barely move."

I knew there was more than just annoyance beneath the surface, and it wasn't because I beat him. We'd talked about it more times than I can remember, and had a few falling outs because of it. It was because he was a mutant. And he _hated_ that. But now didn't seem like a great time to address that topic and probably end up arguing, so I just laughed and flung my arms out beside me on the roof.

"Yeah well, you're like twice as strong and fast as me so I need some sort of advantage."

He snorted humourlessly and watched me try to catch my breath. "Are you gonna need CPR?"

"Fuck off," I snapped. "CPR is for when you stop breathing." Red stirred in my pocket, poking his head out to investigate the excessive amounts of activity. I definitely woke him up while I was running.

"Sorry dude," I said, reaching my hand out to him. He sniffed my fingers and let me pet him before crawling back into my hoodie and probably falling asleep again.

Raph watched with amusement. "Forgot about him."

I laughed and rubbed my face tiredly. "Was he really on your head the whole time?"

"Yeah."

I lifted my hand into the air, smiling expectantly at Raphael. He sighed through his nose and reached down, grabbing my hand to drag me to my feet.

"Are you even _trying?_ " He demanded, hauling me upwards while I put absolutely no effort in to help. I just laughed in answer, causing a smile to spread across his face as he looked down at me, now on my own two feet. Raph's calloused fingers brushed my cheek as he leaned down—slowly, this time. I raised myself onto my toes and pressed my lips to his, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. Even after so long, kissing Raphael always felt like the first; it set the whole world on fire.

He was the one to break away first, holding my face softly in his hands and resting his forehead against mine, eyes tightly shut and saying again _I missed you._

I laid my hands over his and he opened his eyes, staring right into me with those intense green irises so I could say _I missed you too._

Suddenly, there was concern clouding his eyes. "Em..." He exhaled and took a small step back.

"What?"

Raphael's hands fell away. "Are they getting worse?"

 _Oh._ I bit my lip. "Did Leo tell you?"

He nodded. "While Mikey was tackling you."

I sighed, hating bringing this up. It always made them feel guilty no matter what I said or how much I tried to argue. "Yeah, sleeping isn't really my thing anymore," I joked, trying to sound lighthearted about it.

Raph clenched his jaw and breathed a heavy sigh. He wasn't having it. "Em… Why didn't you…?" He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm sorry," he muttered hoarsely. "It's my fault and I don't know what to do."

Watching him like that made my heart fracture. So I didn't argue or try to tell him otherwise, I just asked if he would stay with me.

Raphael nodded, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "'Til the sun comes up."

* * *

 **AN: Ugh my babies are so damn cute I caan't**

 **I'm loving the casual shifts between bickering and making out lol but tbh I've never written a scene with anything more than one kiss, let alone a whole make out scene lmao so I apologize if this chapter was kinda cringey/poorly written. If you guys have any advice for my writing, please don't be afraid to leave a review and let me know! Even just a 'that was kinda awkwardly written' or 'that was too unrealistic' would help. It's hard for me to notice that stuff because I have zero experience in the kissing/boyfriend department lol**

 **Anyways, I'm so sorry it's been a while since my last update! School has been killer with homework plus math is pretty rough this year so I've been spending a lot of my time not failing. But I somehow managed to revive my writing vibe for a long lost story, _Songs of the Etherium_! It's a Treasure Planet fanfic (Jim x OC) and if you guys would be interested in reading it, there is a possibility that chapters could start being released soon, so head over to read the extended summary! I know it may sound weird/childish but if y'all have been reading my work for this long then you know my writing style and you can totally read SotE without knowing a single thing about Treasure Planet. 11/10 would totally recommend the movie though**

 **Please review! It makes me v happy! :D**


	7. 05 Demons

R

* * *

 _He lays on the cracked concrete, motionless, bruised, and bleeding scarlet rivers. The shell on his back riddled with gaping fissures and crevices, sai scattered across the floor in broken shards._

 _Painfully, my heart catches in my chest and I find myself moving towards him without a thought, instinctively searching for any signs of life._

 _But no matter how hard I try, I can't close that distance between us._

 _I can't reach him._ Why can't I reach him?

 _"It's your fault." Raphael lifts his head off the ground, rivulets of blood streaming from a cut on his temple, his mask hanging in tatters around his eyes. Those are the worst—blank, empty._

 _My pulse quickens as he rises like the undead, his skin an ashen green beneath the layers of dust and blood and purple contusions. Blood wells from cracks in his plastron, bruised a terrible red colour._

 _He stalks forward, sneering. "You killed them."_

What? How...?

 _Before I can make sense of anything, the Sacks Estate laboratory materializes around us. Desks stacked with papers, old computers and lab equipment; Footclan soldiers lying unconscious on the floor; a huge, whirring machine connected to the tubes that line the roof, filled with dark red blood._

 _My gaze follows them to their source, though I already know what I'll find at the end._

 _The brothers, Mikey, Donnie and Leo, are strung up in glass cages. Hanging limp, green skin pale, as their lives are drained from them. Though it doesn't look like there's much left to be taken._

 _They look dead._

 _But...they can't be._

 _I run towards them, but my legs don't carry me anywhere. I'm stuck. Trapped in the middle of the estate lab, between a zombie Raphael and three dead brothers._

 _Trapped. I'm trapped._

 _Raphael laughs as he gradually closes the distance between us, his blank eyes filled with malice and rage._

 _I start panicking, my chest caving in on itself as my heart beats rapidly and my legs weaken beneath me_. Why am I trapped? Why can't I move!? How are they dead!? They can't be!

 _"Mikey!" But there's nothing. My lips move, but my scream is nothing more than a raspy whisper._

 _I try again, hardly able to breathe past the suffocating panic. "Donnie!" Nothing. "Leo!"_

 _Nothing nothing nothing no matter how desperate or how hard I try to regain my voice._

 _"They're dead!" He shouts. "And it's_ your _fault!"_

My fault? ' _How!?' I want to ask. 'Why are they dead!?'_

 _"You killed them!" He shouts, his hands curling into tight fists. "You're weak! You led the Foot right to us and killed everyone!"_

No! They're supposed to be okay! Everyone's supposed to be alive! No! _"No! You're lying!" My throat burns but still my efforts are for nothing._

 _"Adrenaline." Donnie's nearly silent voice echoes through the air like ripples across a silent pond._

 _I glance at his body, dangling in the cage, but it doesn't come from there. And somehow, that makes it worse._

 _"Adrenaline."_

 _I close my eyes and press my hands against my ears, trying to shut out Raphael and the dead turtles; telling myself it's not real, it's not real. But his voice still filters past my fingers, clear as day._

 _"You killed them."_

 _"Shut up!" I cry, my throat constricting in pain._

 _"Adrenaline."_

 _I can hear him drawing closer to me, his heavy breaths and footsteps growing louder and louder and I fight but I still can't move from my prison in the middle of this terrible, hellish place._

 _"Adrenaline."_

 _"You don't get it!" He roars. "You destroyed everything! You should never have found Leo!"_

He doesn't mean it. _But he does._

 _"Adrenaline!"_

 _"Shut up!" I can't handle it—the noise and the chaos and the reality of what I've done._

They're dead they're dead and it's _my_ fault. I killed them.

 _"You killed them."_

I killed them.

 _"Adrenaline!"_

 _Lightning pain shoots up my arm._

 _Feeling as if it's engulfed in flames, my eyes fly open and I look down, discovering a horrifying amount of blood rushing from an open cut on my inner wrist._

 _Right on my scar._

 _As if it reopened._

 _"I knew I couldn't trust you." Raphael is a mere few feet away from me._

 _"Adrenaline!"_

 _"They're gone because of you." He closes that distance between us, filling it with rage and pain and hatred. "And now," his hand wraps around my bleeding wrist. "You're going to pay."_

 _He squeezes._

 _And I scream without sound._

"Em!"

 _I look up into his eyes, grasping onto whatever minuscule amount of hope that remains inside of me. But they're red and angry and empty._

 _I press my eyes shut, shaking my head, wishing I was anywhere else but here._

"Em! Em, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and Raphael's face was inches from mine, green eyes bright and worried, warm breath fanning my face.

For a moment, he just stared at me. Then, he shuffled close and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug I desperately needed.

I snuggled in closer, my eyes burning with tears, lips wobbling.

"Hey." he tightened his arms around me. "You're okay."

Tears threatened to spill. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, my face buried against his chest.

"Don't say that," he murmured firmly.

I sighed a shaky breath and closed my eyes, only for a second before deciding against it. I couldn't go back.

Raphael knew this, so he laid there with me in silence, listening to our breathing until I collected myself and mustered the courage to tell him.

"You were dead," I whispered. "Then you stood up. And we were at the estate and they were dead too. And you said that...it was _my_ fault. I couldn't move and I couldn't say anything. My scar was burning and bleeding... And you grabbed it and Donnie was yelling adrenaline but he was still _dead..._ And then I finally heard you." I paused, then added, "your eyes were red."

Raph ignored that part. "You don't think that," he said, unsure of even his own statement.

I chewed the inside of my lip, remaining quiet in lieu of having to answer.

"Em, the last thing you did was hurt anyone," he insisted. "Nothing about our life is bad because of you."

I didn't reply for a long time, thinking about how tired I was but how afraid I was to fall asleep again. A frustrated tear slid down my cheek. "I'm a mess," I muttered.

"It's hot."

"Raph," I mumbled. "I'm serious."

"So am I. You've always been a mess."

"Thanks," I muttered wryly.

He laughed silently and murmured in my ear, "you know I wouldn't be anywhere else."

Warmth bloomed in my chest and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "You just like my ass in these pyjamas," I argued, a smile tugging at my lips.

Raphael laughed, not bothering to deny it. "And your bed."

"It's an actual rock." My mattress was so hard I don't know how I even managed to sleep on it. "The ground is squishier."

He scoffed. "You're so dramatic it's unbelievable."

"I like _your_ bed," I mused, ignoring his comment. "We should switch."

He laughed again. "You should try to sleep."

"I don't want to," I whined.

"Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"No." Raph was trying to get me back asleep. _He never does that. Why's he doing that?_ My heart dropped and I lifted my head to gaze around my room, lit with the slight orange hue of the soon-to-rise sun.

"No." I wrapped my arms tight around his neck and curled up against his plastron. I didn't want him to leave. I hated when he had to leave me like this.

Raphael brought me closer, tightening his embrace around me. I revelled in that closeness and warmth between us.

"I'm sorry, Em."

I hated those words. I didn't want to hear them. All I wanted was for Raphael to stay right there with me.

He remained with me for a few more minutes that felt only like seconds before rolling out of my bed and leaving me—the shadow of a goodbye kiss on my lips.

* * *

 **AN: Heyyo sorry for the late update again lol I've been busy eating tons of chocolate and surviving the hellish days at school. Guess who's already counting down the days to Christmas break! Mee!**

 **Anyways, the dream section of this chapter was really difficult for me to get through and idk if I like how it turned out but whatever I'm just glad to have it finished so I can move on with the story. I'm just so excited to bring in my girl J.T.! It's gonna be so fun ugh I can't wait! Would you guys like some chapters in J.T.'s POV before she meets the turtles? Currently, I don't have plans to write any, so if you'd like to see some, please let me know! Along with some ideas like what she might be doing in NYC! Also, I'd really love to know what kind of scenes or chapters are your guys' favourite to read so I can try to write more of those!**

 **So it's officially winter where I live and it's been snowing nonstop for like a week and I'm already sick of it but I still have like seven more months of this Antarctic weather to endure. Idk how I even survive this every year. Also, I discovered The Cute Guy In My Math Class has a girlfriend.. So. That sucks. But I painted this awesome bowl that I'm gonna put MORE succulents in and I'm excited. Cuz somehow I keep killing my spider plant, which is supposed to be an easy plant to take care of? But it's really not? pro tip: don't get one lol**

 **I'm finally getting my own room! in like three months! even though I'm almost seventeen and I've been sharing a room with my two other sisters since day numero uno!**

 **Lots to be excited about! Including hearing from you guys again! My lovely readers!**

 **Please review and let me know how you liked this chapter! :D**


	8. 06 Heading Up

R

* * *

"No fucking way."

"I know."

Olivia glanced up at me with wide eyes. "Can I hold him?" She asked excitedly.

I laughed and carefully picked up Red, who was busy exploring the granite island-top. Liv cupped her hands together and let out a tiny gasp when I placed him in her palms.

"He is so cute!" She whispered, watching him sniff her hands and hesitantly climb out onto her forearm.

"What'd you name him? Are you even allowed to name zoo animals?"

"Technically, he's not a zoo animal yet," I pointed out. "And I already named him Red."

"Awwww he's so tiny!"

 _Too tiny,_ I thought ruefully.

"I can't believe your _not-boyfriend_ brought a god-freaking _illegal_ exotic animal from Australia for you."

I choked on my latte and set the mug down slowly. "Red isn't _for_ me," I argued, clearing my throat. "Raph just didn't want to leave him to die."

My sister rolled her eyes but said nothing more, too focused on the adorable grey fluff-ball clinging to her arm.

I sipped my latte, craving the caffeine and whatever energy it could supply me with. I'd been awake since four o'clock and it had _not_ been a cheerful three hours since. I'd fed Red and showed him around the apartment before Liv crawled out of bed like a zombie and screamed when she saw Red curled up on my head. It would've been too hard to hide him from her, and I'd called Leo beforehand and he said it was alright if she knew. Now I had to deal with her excessive excitement and I was much too tired for that. The only thing getting me through this long morning was the thought of seeing the guys later.

Red abandoned my sister and scurried across the counter toward me. His small claws catching on my sweater as he rushed up my arm, across my chest, and placed himself on my shoulder. Liv was absolutely heartbroken that he left her so quick and so suddenly.

I downed the rest of my latte before it got too cold. "I gotta go get some stuff for Red," I said. "You going to work?"

She half-sighed half-groaned. "Unfortunately."

I hopped off my stool and walked around the counter, placing my dirty cup in the dishwasher before swinging it closed with my foot.

Liv's eyes narrowed. "Aren't sugar glider's illegal here?"

"Yeah, that's why I gotta get him into the zoo." Red's whisker's tickled my neck and I raised a hand up to pet him. I still couldn't get over how _soft_ he was.

"Where the hell are you gonna buy him stuff?"

"I found a place called Trixie and Peanut online and a few reviews said they have stuff for sugar gliders." I shrugged. "I'm just gonna say I'm getting stuff for a friend in Canada or something."

She still didn't seem to entirely approve. "People aren't _blind,_ Raiy," she pointed out as if I was stupid. "They're gonna notice him."

"People _are_ blind _and_ stupid," I argued. "I could walk around with a rat on my head and nobody would give two shits. They're too concerned with the phones in their hands."

Olivia blew the breath from her cheeks and rolled her eyes in a _whatever_ way. "If you end up in jail or something I'm not bailing you until tomorrow night."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Have some faith," I teased, turning to head into my bedroom. "I'm a ninja." _Literally_.

••• 影の啓示 •••

 _"What the fuuuck,"_ I hissed, trying to attach the clip to the wire of the cage in accordance with the diagram in front of me. After half an hour of constant confusion, I was officially regretting buying the coolest looking set over the more practical ones. But there was no way in hell I was gonna go back there just to exchange this, especially with Red. Unable to lay still in my jacket's inner pocket, he almost got me caught about six times. Not that the people at Trixie and Peanut would have cared—they seemed happy enough to encounter someone purchasing from their sugar glider department, and even offered a ton of tips and information for my "friend in Canada" and their glider. Currently, he was clinging to the back of my sweater, tugging strands of loose hair from my bun, waiting impatiently for me to finish.

"I'm workin' on it," I muttered, securing the metal clip and moving on to the next one. I'd managed to set up most of the cage: a mesh net covering majority of its bottom; two cords of thick-braided rope dangling from the roof that would serve as a ladder of sorts; two much smaller nets hung above the larger one; triangles of fabric stacked in twos in two corners; and a small, cube-like cage of netting and fabric I was struggling to hang close to the roof and above the layered nets. Thankfully, my prayers for not-ugly-looking decorations had been answered and everything was coloured black and dark green camo print instead of some blue and pink patterned shit. It actually looked pretty sweet.

"Get excited, Red." I finished with the mini cage and picked up a pouch to hang. "This is gonna be hella fun." The clip caught on my finger as it snapped shut around the cage wire, rousing an annoyed curse from me. _I fucking swear to god..._

My earring vibrated. _I bet it's Mikey._

I pressed the stud's fake diamond, answering the call. "Yo."

 _"Yo yo yo!"_ He cried in answer, instantly lifting my mood. _"What's crackalackin', RaiyRaiy?"_

"Mm, nothin'. Just setting up Red's cage. You?"

On the other line, something in the background crashed, bringing about a distant hum of voices. Mikey didn't address it. _"I'm tryna find my old skateboard, have you seen it?"_

I thought for a moment. "No. You have one with rockets and shit, why do want your old one?"

 _"I remember it being awesome."_

I rolled my eyes. "Did you–?" Another loud crash interrupted me. I winced at the volume and spun the diamond to tone it down.

"You're checking the storage room?" It was hardly a question that needed answering. It was a known fact that whenever Mikey went into the storage room he managed to knock over at least one carefully-stacked tower of shit.

 _"Yeah,"_ he replied. _"But I dunno if it's in here."_

I backed away from the cage to get a better look at the setup, deciding whether or not to change the pouch's location. "I'm almost done with this, then I can come and help you look."

 _"Sweet! Thanks, man. What's your sis doin' today?"_

"Working." Red scrambled onto my shoulder to inspect the earring, his whiskers tickling my ear almost unbearably. I swallowed back my shriek and quickly snatched him away, holding him in front of my face. "Don't do that!" I cried. He squirmed in my grasp, making strange hissing noises.

 _"What is that?"_ Mikey asked.

I laughed and placed the glider inside his mostly-completed cage. "Red's hissing at me."

 _"What!?"_

"It's normal."

 _"Sounds like a weird snake."_

Smiling, I watched Red explore his new cage excitedly, no longer hissing his annoyance at me. "They make a lot of weird noises."

 _"That's scary, man."_

I shrugged and picked up the last set piece to hang. My phone vibrated on my desk. _The zoo._

"Sorry, Mikey, I gotta go. The zoo is calling me." I picked up my phone, confirming it really was Lauren.

 _"No worries, I'll see ya later!"_ He hung up and I quickly answered my phone.

"Hey, Lauren."

 _"Hey, I finally got a response."_

I grimaced nervously. "Please tell me it's good."

 _"If he passes an examination, Red can join the colony."_

Hearing those words dropped ten pounds off my chest. Lauren was laughing at me over the phone, and I couldn't help but join her. "I was so nervous," I admitted.

 _"I could tell,"_ she said. _"Doctor Kim is in right now if you want to come and get Red checked out. It shouldn't take very long."_

"Everyone's okay?" Hearing the name of the zoo's veterinarian always made me nervous about the animals.

 _"They're fine. He's checking up on some lemurs today, nothing to worry about."_

"Oh, good." I watched Red crawl hesitantly inside the small, mesh cube hanging inside his cage. "Okay. I'll be there soon.

••• 影の啓示 •••

Dr. Kim watched Red as he clambered up my arm to my shoulder following the conclusion of his examination. "He has bonded with you very fast," he noted.

I grinned and stroked a finger down the glider's back. "Yeah, do you think it's because he lost his mother so early?"

"I suppose so," he agreed. "Sugar glider joeys rely on their parents for two months after leaving the pouch. He is only five weeks or so, he could not have defended himself. He needed a mother to raise him, and he found one." Dr. Kim motioned to me, "you protect," then he gestured to Red, "and so he trusts. ...Red is a remarkable case. He would not have survived without your friends."

I took the glider in my hands and held him in front of my face. "You hear that? You're a lucky guy." He crawled out of my palm and burrowed under my sweater sleeve. A moment later, I felt a tug on my bracelet, making me smile.

"Is there anything else I should know?" After the info-dump I received from the workers at Trixie and Peanut and now from Dr. Kim, I was beginning to think I knew just about everything there was to know about sugar gliders, but I had to be sure. I couldn't bear to screw something up with Red; this poor little guy, losing his family just like me. I wanted to give him a new one, as the turtles did for me.

Dr. Kim placed his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat and shook his head. "But if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me at any time."

I nodded. "Okay, thanks."

The examination room door swung open suddenly and Lauren's bright face popped inside. "Sorry to interrupt," she said.

"It's no problem," Dr. Kim replied. "We're finished."

"Oh," she stepped further into the doorway, raising an eyebrow at me, "how'd it go?"

"Red is single and ready to mingle." Hearing a new voice, Red poked his head out of my sleeve and watched my manager standing in the half-open doorway.

Dr. Kim laughed as he wrote something on a clipboard. "Yes, he's approved for integration."

A smile broke free on the zoo director's face. "Great. The gliders will be in tomorrow at eight am, along with their new keeper. If you could be there with Red to meet him and the animals, that would be great."

"Yeah, of course." Internally, I was crying over the early hours. It was finally the weekend and I couldn't even sleep in on Sunday morning. Not that I probably _could_ sleep for any longer than a few hours. _Wait..._ I frowned. "Is the enclosure up already?"

Lauren's expression morphed into a grimace. "Shoot, I have to go check on that." She glanced at Dr. Kim with an apologetic look. "Sorry doctor, we'll get out of your hair."

Looking up from his writing, he smiled and waved a hand in farewell. Lauren held the door open, motioning for me to follow. I transferred Red to my chest to free my hands before hurrying after her.

"The enclosure's coming along quickly," she said, navigating HQ to head outside. "It should be ready to open in a week. Until then, the gliders will be staying in the back room."

"Oh, I was wondering what the huge cage was for." I noticed it a few days ago and kept forgetting to ask about it.

Lauren's short, platinum blonde hair bobbed in time with her quick stride as she exited the employee's only section. She glanced back at me, holding the door open. "I got Vick working on it right now while the enclosure is still being set up."

Red's fur tickled my neck, reassuring me he was still clinging to my sweater. "How long have you known about the glider colony?"

"Since Wednesday." She inspected the throngs of people around us who admired the birds and greenery around them. "Good thing we decided to kickstart our next project early."

"Yeah, no kidding." Construction started over a month ago to transform an empty space in the Tropic Zone for another animal enclosure, and until a few days ago we weren't even entirely sure what species would be occupying it.

Lauren kept walking through the crowded building until we made it outside. A huge crowd of kids and adults had gathered around the sea lion enclosure in the centre of the zoo. The feeding would start soon. I followed my manager as she made a sharp turn to head into the much less chaotic intelligence garden.

 _There's definitely something she wants to talk about._ I lifted a hand to my shoulder, feeling for Red's tiny, soft body to confirm he was still there.

Lauren crossed her arms and looked at the tall buildings of Manhattan stretching above the trees of Central Park. "Would you be interested in being assistant glider keeper?"

 _Oh my–_ "Is this a promotion?" I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn't believe it. After two years of working the same boring position I was _finally_ getting promoted!

Lauren laughed. "Only if you accept."

"Yes! Yeah! I'd love to!"

She grinned. "Great! Your hours won't change much, you'll still be working in the Tropics, but more behind the scenes with the animals and stuff. If you're good at it, you might step up to keeper. Or," she added teasingly, "I'll drop you back down to educator."

I rolled my eyes. "You'll miss my poison dart frog demo. I know you like it."

"I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't." She uncrossed her arms and stepped past me. "I'll see you tomorrow at eight!"

I smiled excitedly to myself and scratched Red's back. _Assistant glider keeper._ It wasn't as glorious a title as I imagined, but I was finally heading upwards.

* * *

 **AN: What is up my dudes it's been too freaking long lol**

 **This chapter was kinda boring so I tried to make it up to you guys by making it hella long! This is the most in depth I've ever written about Raiya's zoo job, and in case y'all haven't noticed it's not very accurate. I've never been to NYC let alone Central Park Zoo so I'm winging this shit lmao this is based purely on google searches. I'm creating my own characters for the zoo employees instead of using the names of actual staff that work there, just to be safe. Also bcuz I don't want to research the real director and curators and all that shit I don't got time for that.**

 **Anyways, lemme update y'all. I got my own room and turns out it's freezing af and the wifi doesn't reach past the door. Literally it's so cold I think my plants are dying. Again. Tbh I should probably stop buying plants but I really want a bonsai tree. I'm supposed to be at school right now but instead I'm drinking a shitty latte in my pyjamas at home haha yess ima go in later for my important classes**

 **SO I'm gonna try my best to give you guys another chapter as soon as I can! I have two weeks off school starting today (hella blessed) so hopefully I can get my shit together. Until then, enjoy this early gift from moi! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Idk any other ones lol Happy Holidays! I hope everyone enjoys their break as much as I'm going to!**


	9. 07 Sparring

R

* * *

I could hear a movie playing when I walked in the lair through the holey wall. An idea popped into my mind and I instantly softened my footfalls. I made a sharp left, creeping up the stairs to the first level and turning to enter the tv room. _The Last Samurai_ —a movie they'd watched countless times—played on the tv that resided at the far end of the small, cylindrical room. Leo was sitting closest to the entrance on a beanbag and noticed me instantly.

 _Damn._ I was never sneaky enough to get past him. I held a finger up to my lips and smirked, sneaking up behind Raph and Mikey who were in the love seat while Donnie lounged in another beanbag. Carefully, I gathered the long tails of their masks and tied them together, pulling the knot tight. Leonardo rolled his eyes at me and I stuck my tongue out at him in return.

"This looks really boring," I mused, making my presence known.

Donnie craned his head around to look at me. I could see the pain in his hazel eyes. "It is," he groaned. Out of the four turtles, he was the one to choose just about anything else over watching a movie.

"If you guys needed a movie, you should've called," I laughed. Red ran down my arm, claws sticking in my sweater until he was at my wrist and straining toward Raphael.

"Awww," Mikey cooed, earning himself a glare.

Leo was not about to pass up this opportunity either. "That's cute," he teased. "He really missed your big head, I guess."

Raphael grumbled and crossed his arms. "Shut up."

I extended my hand toward him for Red to take his place on the turtle's head. "Don't lose him."

He scoffed, but said nothing.

"Can I watch you today?" Mikey asked desperately. "This is so _boring_."

"I don't think I'm doing anything exciting." I thought back to my last training session two days ago, unable to recall what Master Splinter stated we would work on next. I shrugged and said to him, "I'll let you know. Did you find your skateboard?"

He frowned. "No."

"Okay," I laughed. "I'll help you look for it after my training."

"Thanks, dude!" Satisfied for the moment, Mikey relaxed back into the loveseat, his attention returning to the TV screen dominated by Tom Cruise.

I glanced at Leo. "Splinter?"

"Training circle," he answered, shooting me a wicked smile. "Hope you're ready to get your ass kicked today."

I rolled my eyes and spun to head toward the circle. "You better not watch my session!" I added over my shoulder, descending the stairs.

Splinter was sitting cross-legged on the large pedestal lined with flaming candles, his eyes closed and his palms resting on his knees. His ears twitched hearing my approach and a smile appeared on his face.

"How are you feeling today, my student?"

"Better," I admitted truthfully. And damn it felt good to finally be able to say such a thing.

"Good," he said. "Retrieve your tessens and we'll begin."

My body humming with excitement, I tossed off my jacket and headed past him toward the weapons room. I ran a hand over my braid I put my hair into earlier, checking to see if it was still tight enough.

They were hanging on the back wall, two black folded fans amidst an assortment of throwing knives. I lifted them off their wall mounts and flicked them open, testing for resistance and acquainting myself with its light weight. With a near-silent metallic swish, the stainless steel bones glided from their folded form and slid into place, forming a solid half-circle of smooth black metal, the round edge sharpened to a deadly point. I flicked them shut and turned to leave. I returned to Splinter just as yells poured out from the TV room. Leo could be heard laughing hysterically as Raphael cursed loudly and Mikey complained about him yanking too hard on his mask.

"Untie it!" He cried. " _Ow,_ dude! Stop _pulling!_ "

Splinter opened his eyes with a chuckle. "That's a good one," he mused, praising me for my prank. "I haven't seen it in a while." The rat got to his feet and motioned me forward, clearing back the candles with his tail. I stepped onto the pedestal, pushing the shouting and laughter still coming from the turtles to the back of my mind. Grasping the folded fans at my sides, I bowed to him.

Sensei was smiling at me when I straightened again. "Let us begin."

••• 影の啓示 •••

The katana sang through the air, arcing toward my face before I lifted a tessen, swiping it away and using the other to cut forward. My advance was blocked by Leo's quick blades. He spun, lifting one leg up to kick the weapons from my hands. I flicked both tessens closed just in time to bat his foot away. God, I hated that trick. He'd used it successfully too many times to count.

I tossed one closed fan behind my back and used the other to knock back an incoming blade, then reached up to catch the now open fan and slice downward. Leo's face lit up with shock and he managed to dodge my new trick, backstepping out of my reach. Though it only bought him a moment's reprieve.

I swung my arm wide, sending one fan slicing through the air while allowing my body to carry into a spin. I leaped forward just as he knocked the tessen from the air, flicking the other open with a satisfying _shing_ and cutting low. Leo moved to block my cut and I used my free hand to quickly grab the wrist of his other sword hand and twist.

Hissing in pain, Leo dropped the katana but still carried through with his parry. I kicked his fallen blade away and surged forward again. I couldn't let him breathe, not when he hadn't seen me practice for so long. Leo won through carefully thought out strategies planned to a tee. If I gave him any time to analyze or gather his thoughts I'd lose my advantage. So I stepped in close, tossing my tessen from hand to hand, making sure to cut more than I parried.

 _Alright, time for the real surprise_. Praying I wouldn't tear my adductors in half, I hopped onto one foot and kicked the other straight up, nailing Leo's arm and sending his katana flying upwards. I saw him reach for it with his other hand and I hurled my tessen into the air to knock it away. Wasting no time, I turned and scooped up my fallen tessen with my foot, tossing it up and snatching it from the air. I slammed my foot into the back of Leo's knee before he could react, causing his knee to buckle and send him down, then I reached an arm around to press the edge of my tessen against his throat.

 _Fuck yeah._ "How's that for an ass-kicking?"

"Not bad," he admitted breathlessly.

I smirked and dropped my tessen, allowing Leo to exhale a large breath.

"What's wrong with you?" I teased, tossing my braid over my shoulder. "Slacking on your cardio during vacation?"

Leo laughed and got to his feet, shaking his head at me as he collected his katanas. "You're gonna regret that tomorrow."

I grinned, searching the floor for my other tessen.

"Em." I looked up at Raphael, who uncrossed his arms and stepped forward from where he was watching. "Nice throw," he murmured, handing me the tessen with a crooked smile that made my heart jump.

I returned to Splinter, who stood in the training circle with his hands clasped behind his back, a pleased smile on his face. "I must commend you on your success, Raiya," he said. "I'm glad to see our flexibility training paid off well."

I grinned hearing the brothers laughing and murmuring in agreement behind me.

"We'll continue tomorrow," Master Splinter said, climbing off the pedestal to stand in front of me. "I have an interesting exercise I think you'll enjoy."

"Hai, Sensei." I bowed to him before he retired to the kitchen.

Mikey whooped loudly, throwing his arms up in the air. "First win!" He shouted cheerfully.

I held a fist up in the air, shaking it in victory as I entered the weapons room to return my tessens. Until I became a full kunoichi I wasn't allowed to carry the weapons without reason.

When I walked back out I caught Leo standing outside his room rolling his shoulders, wincing in slight pain. My own shoulders were sore as well, as they always were after training. It was heartening to know I wasn't alone with my pain.

"Nice win, Em," Raph said, lifting his hand up.

"Thanks." I slapped his hand enthusiastically, grinning proudly. "I thought you'd appreciate that high kick."

He laughed. "Looked like you were gonna tear an ass muscle."

I nodded victoriously. "But I didn't! How's Red?"

Raphael sighed. "Hyper," he grumbled. "Aren't they supposed to be nocturnal or something?"

"You're such a baby," I teased, reaching my hand up to his head and calling for Red. The glider poked his head out from behind the turtle's broad neck and grappled onto my wrist. I brought him down towards me and inspected the young glider who was indeed hyper. "But you're right, he should be nocturnal. I don't know why he's diurnal. I mean, it's not _bad_ as long he's okay. But it's weird. Maybe something to do with jet lag." I shrugged and turned to head into the storage room. "I'm gonna help Mikey find his skateboard."

"You're not gonna find it," he said quietly, stopping me before I could take another step. There was something suspicious in his voice.

I turned around, my eyebrows drawn together. "Did you hide it?" I hissed.

His lack of an answer was all I needed to know I guessed right.

I punched his arm, making him laugh. "Raph! Are you serious!?" I demanded. "Mikey's been looking for it all day!"

That only seemed to make him laugh harder.

••• 影の啓示 •••

 **AN: Hey everyone! So Raiya's weapon is officially duel-wielded tessens! There is a video and picture on the Quotev version of TSR if you want to check it out. Raiya's tessens are completely made of matte black steel, similar in appearance to the picture I included on Quotev. They're also much smaller and less bulky than the ones in the video o Quotev. When they're folded, they're very slim and functional. I know it's kind of unrealistic but so are talking teenage mutant ninja turtles so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **I plan on introducing J.T. within the next two or three chapters! I also received a question asking about the other brothers getting girlfriends, and if that does happen (probably not, sorry), it would be for one of them and it would be during the third book. BUT there is going to be a new character in the next chapter, the sugar glider keeper. He'll appear a lot throughout TSR but no major role. All I have so far is he's a guy so I could definitely use your guys' help developing his character more (name, face claim/appearance, etc.) and also giving me some name suggestions for five new gliders that will be in Red's new colony at the zoo!**

 **Also, I'm really sorry for leaving you guys hanging for such a long time but I'm trying to write three other stories at the moment and I'm spending most of my time trying to keep my marks up (trying to graduate with honours with distinction pray for me lol) and I also have to worry about getting a part-time job and graduation and finding a DRESS for grad. So if you guys know of any safe and reliable websites to order good quality grad/prom dresses from PLEASE let me know! Already checked David's Bridal, Prom Affair and Lulus.**

 **I want to thank all of you for your patience and for sticking with this story! I love all of you and I love the reviews you leave for me! It makes me so so happy! :D**


	10. 08 Sunday Fun-Day

R

* * *

 _Sacks Tower is silent, absent even of the hum of electricity._

 _There are signs on the walls providing directions to the laboratory, but I don't need them. I already know the way. I've run it countless times, countless nights through the same halls lit by the same flickering lights, a kunai grasped in my hand. I know that when I get there Eric Sacks will be waiting. I know he's going to have a gun pointed at my head and I know he's going to pull the trigger just as I throw my kunai and realize it and my belt had disappeared into thin air without me realizing._

 _But I can't stop any of it. I never can._

 _It's as if my body is programmed to reenact the same sequence over and over again and no matter how hard I fight I can never change it or stop it. I have to sit and watch as I confront that evil, conniving billionaire, trying to figure out when and how that damn kunai disappears from my grasp every time. And hoping and praying and begging to wake up before I have to stare down the barrel of that pistol, waiting for the crack and_ BAM _and—_

"Hey."

There was a voice in my ear. It made everything blur.

"Hey, wake up, Em."

It was deep and soft—calming. I could feel the breath and warmth of him next to me.

"You're okay." I felt him wipe away the tears on my cheeks I hadn't known I'd shed. The Sacks tower blurred into nothing as I forced my heavy eyes open. Raphael was watching me intently, one hand resting lightly on my cheek, green eyes filled with concern, as they always were.

I hated it. God, I hated seeing that pity and that guilt constantly overwhelming him. And every time he looked at me like that...

My eyes burned. "Why am I so fucked up?" I whispered. _Why can't I just be normal?_

Raph's eyes hardened, the pity evaporating in an instant so he was fixing me with this expression of disbelief and anger. He grasped my face fiercely, bringing me close. "You're not fucked up," he murmured, kissed my forehead. "Try to get some sleep."

••• 影の啓示 •••

"Sorry I'm late!" I called, pushing open the door to the zoo's back room with my back, Red grasped in my hands. "People kept stopping me, it's a zoo out there." I smiled hearing Lauren's outburst of laughter as I turned and walked inside, transferring Red to my shoulder as I looked up. My manager was standing beside a tall guy who was dressed in CPZ attire near the huge cage filled with gliders. He looked South American with his dark skin and curly black hair. I shot him a friendly smile as I approached the two.

Lauren smiled sympathetically, traces of amusement still evident. "Don't worry about it. This is Matias," she gestured to the man next to her, "the new keeper."

Matias stepped forward, holding out his hand. "You can call me Mat." He looked older than Liv and had some sort of cool accent. His eyes were a dark, amber-tinged brown.

I shook his hand. "I'm Raiya. And this is Red." I hooked a thumb at the glider, whose whiskers I could feel brushing against my ear. I couldn't tell if he hadn't noticed the five other sugar gliders in the room or just didn't care.

Mat smiled, his curious eyes stuck on the young marsupial "How old?"

"Around five weeks." I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell him about the whole illegal part of Red being here, but Lauren answered that question for me.

"Raiya's friends found him orphaned in Australia," she explained, drawing Mat's attention. "They decided to bring him back instead of leaving him to the wilderness."

I watched the keeper's expression turn grim before she hurried to resolve it.

"Technically, it is illegal. But everything has been taken care of and he's officially zoo property. So there won't be any problems there." She turned to look at the enormous cage against the wall behind her. "These guys are from Australia as well, they're even the same subspecies as Red, which will help a ton in the integration process. Which brings me to my next point." The director's gaze fell on me. "Matias and I have been trying to decide the best way to integrate Red while he's still bonding with you. We can't assume the gliders in this colony will instantly adopt him and take care of him: he still needs a parent, and these guys are only about one or two weeks older than him."

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for the solution. "Okay, so what do you guys have so far?"

Mat crossed his arms. "We think about one more week will establish the bond before he can permanently live with the others."

"We're not exactly experts on glider bonding," Lauren added humorously. "But I figure you can bring him here and while you work your shifts he can hang out with these guys. Then you take him home, hang out, bond. And by the end of next week, he'll be ready to join the colony without losing that bond between you." She paused to hear my opinion.

I glanced between the two and nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. When do we start?"

••• 影の啓示 •••

"So you are from here?"

Petting Red, I shook my head. "I was born in Arizona and I moved here about..." I bit my lip, quickly doing the math in my head, "six years ago. What about you?"

Matias nodded thoughtfully. "I am from Argentina, I grew up there with my family and studied English. I came to America about nine years ago, started working at a zoo in California. Then I come here." He gestured to the interior of the Tropic Zone building, referring to the Central Park Zoo as a whole.

As one of the Tropics educators called in sick, Lauren had decided to offer me a chance to earn some extra hours as an educator—despite my recent promotion to assistant-keeper—while also making some integration progress. So Mat took one of the new gliders—Alice, the oldest and most relaxed from the colony—and strolled around the Tropic Zone building with me and Red, acquainting the two animals with each other while also doing my job. They got along well and attracted an incredible amount of curious zoo-goers; I was answering more questions about gliders than any of the other animals. And more kids than I could count had asked to hold Red, who was too afraid to leave my grasp. So Mat let them pet Alice, successfully creating a curious crowd of people that had only just dispersed.

"Hey, I need–"

I quickly spun around upon hearing the familiar voice among the chattering masses and Casey Jones instantly halted, his horrified gaze falling on the animal grasped in my hands.

" _Why_ are you holding a rat?" He demanded.

I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Mat, who looked both confused and amused. "That's Casey, he's my friend somehow," I explained drily. "Casey, this is my coworker, Matias."

Standing an uncomfortable distance away, Casey nodded his head in greeting. "Hey, man. You got one too?" He was still talking about the gliders.

"They're sugar gliders, Jones. Stop being a wuss."

He sighed and came closer. "You know, I didn't come here to be insulted," he grumbled. "When did you get those things anyway?"

"Most of them got here today," I answered. "This guy got here on Friday. His name is Red."

Casey looked down at the marsupial uncertainly. "Since when do you carry around monkeys during your shifts?"

Matias chuckled quietly.

"Since yesterday. _I_ got promoted," I announced dramatically. "Assistant sugar glider keeper."

"About time," he mused.

 _Right._ I rubbed Red's ears and let him chew on my finger. "So what do you need help with?" I looked up when he didn't reply right away, and I couldn't help but grin knowingly upon seeing his hesitant expression. "Oh, you need _girl_ advice."

"Please? I finally got a date and I have no clue what to do."

"About what?"

"Everything!" He groaned. "What am I supposed to wear?"

"Well, where are you going?"

Casey shrugged and my jaw dropped. Beside me, Mat coughed to conceal his laughter.

"Please tell me you're kidding."

Casey didn't seem to understand. "What?"

"You don't even have an _idea_?"

He shook his head.

"You were planning on _asking_ her? Are you kidding!?"

He shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"I have never been on a date before but if my man showed up and asked me what I wanted to do on the first date there probably wouldn't be a second."

The idiot still wasn't catching on.

"You gotta plan!" I explained. "If you show up without a plan you're gonna look like you don't care."

"That's ridiculous."

"Well deal with it. What did you say to her when you asked her out?"

He thought for a moment. "Just if she wanted to hang out."

"Okay, so that should be something fun and laid back. What does she like to do?"

"I dunno."

"Casey!"

"I'm kidding!" He laughed. "She's usually chasing a story but when she's not doing that she's doing something like walking around a mall or going for a run or something like she's constantly looking for something to do, you know?"

I nodded, already running through options in my head. "Do you think she'd like axe throwing? There's a place in Greenpoint across the East River, it's around a bunch of different bars and restaurants so you can go wherever based on how it goes."

"That's awesome. I think she'd like that, she's always looking for new things to do." He hesitated. "Will she think I'm weird, though?"

"Casey you _are_ weird," I said. "And if she doesn't like that then she's not worth it. Just...don't be _too_ weird on the first date, if that makes sense."

"Right, okay. So what else?"

Despite never having been on a real one myself, I lectured Casey about the do's and do-not's of first dates, reminding him to shave, shower, be on time, compliment her, hold doors open, offer to pay the bill, and ask her questions, but don't interrogate. There's a fine line between the two.

Matias—bless that man—took care of all the questions and curious people that were interested in his glider, Alice, while I helped Casey. I reminded myself to buy him a coffee or something as thanks.

After I poured all my advice out onto Casey, he was finally beginning to look more confident about his date.

"I think I got this," he said, bouncing slightly on his feet.

I grinned. "Great. Let me know how it goes tomorrow."

"I will." He took a step back. "Thanks for the help."

I watched with a smile on my face as Casey Jones disappeared into the gradually lessening crowds of people in the building, wondering just how long this infatuation will last, or if Casey truly is interested this time. With a sigh, I turned around to look at Mat.

"Sorry about that," I said sheepishly. "He was so nervous I thought he was going to cancel his date if I didn't do anything."

He just shrugged. "It's no problem, this job is nice," he said truthfully, petting Alice. "I like these people."

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket but ignored it. "Really?" I asked. "Why are you a keeper then?"

Matias smiled and looked down at Alice. "I like animals more."

I laughed. "Me too."

A young boy dragged his mother over to us, pointing excitedly at the gliders in our hands, asking what they were, what their names were, if he could pet them. Matias crouched down, letting him pet Alice while I made conversation with the kid's mom, telling her about sugar glider behaviour and the new enclosure that would be ready for them soon. Throughout the whole interaction, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Someone really wanted to get a hold of me.

When the two of them walked off to enjoy the rest of the zoo, I told Matias I'd be back before retreating to the back room and pulling out my phone. Fifteen texts and four missed calls. From _Mikey_. Probably still trying to find the skateboard Raphael hid.

Before I could open any to read, my phone started vibrating from another incoming call. Mikey's caller ID popped up and I quickly answered it, prepared to scold him for disrupting me during work—which I constantly tell him I'm not allowed to answer my phone during. But he interrupts me before I can even open my mouth.

 _"Raiya!"_ He cried _. "Thank god you finally answered!_ _I really screwed up, something happened and I dunno what to do! I can't call Leo, he's gonna lose his shell! Please help me out, dudette, I'm losing my mind! I think I'm gonna throw up."_

 _What the hell?_ "Calm down. What do you mean something happened?"

 _"Please don't be mad at me,"_ he begged.

I sighed. It was probably something ridiculous like losing one of his nunchucks somewhere in the sewers. "I won't," I promised. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Just tell me what happened."

 _"Okay,"_ he said. _"I was skateboarding way outside the lair and I found this cat, right? And I saw him trying to get outta the sewers through a grate but he couldn't fit so I lifted it up out of the way and I let him out and…"_ He hesitated for a moment before saying quietly: _"someone saw me."_

* * *

 **AN: OH SHIT HAHAA**

 **I bet y'all** **can guess who saw Mikey ;)**

 **So I imagine Matias looking something like Juan Pablo di Pace. He's a really nice guy, and I'm thinking about 29 years old.**

 **I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to write this next chapter so I hope I can manage to get it written and publish it for you guys soon! But no promises because I can't seem to get my shit together lately lol**

 **ANyways, I ordered a grad dress and hopefully it fits so I'm a little less stressed now (bless) but now I gotta worry about hair and shoes and makeup ugh plus its still cold af** **were I live and the sun is not coming out which is an ISSUE because I need to start tanning I'm too goddamn white lmao**

 **ALSO the support I'm getting from you guys is INSANE and I'm always so so excited to see the reviews you guys leave me! You are seriously the best and I appreciate your patience so much! :D**


	11. 09 Jasmine Taylor

R

* * *

"Are you sure? Do you think maybe she only saw the cat?

"Dude, she _fainted_ ," Mikey said. " _Twice._ If she didn't see me the first time, she did the second."

I sighed and looked down at the unconscious girl laying on the dry sewer floor. Mikey had been thoughtful enough to untie the sweater from around his waist and lay it underneath her after she passed out the second time.

I left work as fast as I could to get there. I insisted Mikey send me an authentic video to ensure he wasn't pranking me, then I rushed to ask Lauren if I could leave early after realizing how very real the situation was. Thankfully, she'd been very understanding and let me and Red leave immediately. I even took a cab to get there faster, finding Mikey in an alleyway sewer hovering nervously over an unconscious girl, the mentioned cat nowhere in sight.

"Did the cat at least make it out?"

He nodded, looking down at the girl as well. "Yeah."

She looked about the same age as us, with wavy brown hair and deeply tanned skin. Her face was sharp and so clear of acne and blemishes I couldn't help but admire it. She had on a black beanie, a red flannel and dark-wash jeans while her bag resided on the ground beside her. Mikey had taken it off of her and swore he didn't go through it.

"Please tell me you have an idea, Raiy," he pleaded.

I grimaced and turned my gaze upon him. "Sorry, Mikey. We have to call Leo."

The turtle's shoulder's slumped forward and he nodded, resigning himself to face his older brother's wrath. God, I hated disappointing him like that. But she'd definitely seen him. There was no chance of leaving her and pretending it never happened.

I tried my best to be reassuring. "He won't be mad at you," I said. "It was an accident. Maybe Donnie can make some of that amnesia stuff again." Red crawled carefully across my chest to reach my opposite shoulder.

Mikey shook his head. "Leo's gonna be pissed, Raiy. Maybe you should leave."

I scoffed, thinking back to the first year I met them. "I've dealt with his shit before," I mused. "Plus, I can help her." I nodded to the girl, my eyes widening when I realized she was sitting up and staring right at us, her mouth hanging open and her bright blue-green eyes filled with fear and shock.

"Hi," I began carefully. "My name's Raiya. This is my friend, Mikey."

Her gaze darted between me and Mikey, her shoulders beginning to rise and fall faster as she panicked.

"I–I know karate," she threatened. "I'm a black belt. Seriously."

Mikey laughed. "Us too!" He cried happily. "We're ninjas!"

I elbowed him pointedly.

The girl's expression fell, almost as if a visual _shit_ flitted across her face.

"That doesn't mean we're gonna hurt you," I insisted. "We just wanna talk. You kinda scared Mikey and then you fainted and he wanted to make sure you were okay, which is why you're down here."

"I scared _him_?" The girl demanded sarcastically.

"Yeah, dudette! I thought I was gonna have a heart attack!"

I looked away from the girl to talk to him in a low voice. "Mikey, can you call Leo and tell him what happened?" I asked. "I'm gonna calm her down and make sure she's okay."

"Good idea," he whispered back, turning around and hurrying further down the tunnel. I smiled and spun around to look at the girl, who didn't look any calmer than before.

"What was your name?"

She hesitated. "Um, my friends call me J.T.."

I nodded conversationally. "What's it short for?"

"Jasmine Taylor."

I thought for a moment. "Can I call you Jaz?"

J.T. nodded, then narrowed her eyes slightly. "Can I ask you how you know him?" She jerked her chin at Mikey's figure, standing far down the tunnel.

"It was an accident," I admitted, scrunching my nose up in thought. "...mostly." I opted out of telling the whole story, deciding it was best to reveal less at the moment. I wasn't sure how Leo wanted to deal with this situation.

"Okay," she said, "I'm trying not to freak out, but I need some answers." J.T. sucked in a breath and her eyes widened as they settled on something by my ear. "What is that?"

 _Oh._ "He's a sugar glider." I lifted my hand up to pet him, feeling his whiskers when he sniffed at my fingers. "His name's Red and he needs someone to take care of him for a while before he can live at the zoo."

She shook her head as if attempting to clear it of all the weird. "So is there anything you _can_ tell me? About this?"

I shrugged. "Not a whole lot, but Mikey's really great. I know you're probably still scared but he's so sweet and he's hilarious. I've known him for a long time and he's really awesome." I felt my earring buzzing and I raised my hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, clicking it on as I did so.

Leo's voice came through. _"I'm on my way."_ And the line went dead. I wasn't sure wether to be scared for J.T. or relieved that I didn't have to try to explain everything to her and end up doing it wrong.

 _Oh well_.

"My friend is on his way right now," I continued. "He's gonna explain everything for you. He's...like Mikey. And I'm warning you now that he can be _pretty_ tense. But he's still a good person. Just try to keep an open mind; these guys haven't had a very easy life."

Hearing that, her expression softened and she glanced behind me at Mikey, who I could hear approaching.

"Hey, Raiy. Leo's on his way, he wants me to go back so I'll see you later." He held his fist out and I gave him a fist bump. "Thanks for ditching work to help me out," he added.

I laughed. "No problem, Mikey. I'll swing by later."

He grabbed his hoodie and said goodbye to J.T. as well, waving as he retreated down the sewer tunnel and returned to the lair. Jaz watched him go with what looked to be guilt seeping through her fierce exterior. Before Leo showed up to bear the bad news, I decided to shift the atmosphere towards something a little more mundane, complimenting her cute black backpack, which was some vegan Canadian brand I'd never heard of. And of _course_ I had to ask her about her skincare routine because how could I _not?_

J.T.'s face flushed and she actually laughed a little. "I, uh, just use some stuff from a brand called Lush. And I drink a lot of water." She shrugged and adjusted her hat, smoothing her hair beneath it. "Is your hair naturally red?"

"Yup. And it has absolutely _no_ volume because it's straighter than a board."

Jaz smiled. "Well, mine's naturally wavy and if I don't put any product in it, I look like a Pomeranian, so," she shrugged helplessly, and I couldn't help a small laugh. I kinda liked this girl, she was shy yet funny and honestly relatable. I could almost see myself sharing a bowl of popcorn with her during a weekend movie marathon.

And Leo was on his way to scare the shit out of her and probably induce Doublethink.

 _Just my luck._

"Is that him?" J.T. was looking at something behind me, her expression once again one of apprehension.

I glanced over my shoulder, finding Leo walking toward us. Thankfully, he didn't look too pissed. "Yeah," I said. "That's him." When her skin paled almost instantly, I tried once again to sound reassuring. "He's not that scary, trust me. He just tries to be." In reality, he was just as soft and squishy as Raphael.

"Hey, Raiy." Leo planted himself beside me and nudged me with his arm. "Thanks for coming to help Mikey." Then he looked at Jaz. "I'm Leo."

"J.T.." She looked like she wanted to say more but was too nervous to do so.

"I apologize for my brother dragging you into this," he continued. "Nobody is supposed to know we exist, it's too dangerous."

I rolled my eyes. "It's been two years and I haven't died yet," I pointed out dryly.

J.T. bit her lip against a question and listened to Leonardo.

"Anyone associated with us is officially a target for any villain in New York. Especially the Footclan–"

"But–" realizing her outburst, J.T.'s cheeks reddened. "Sorry," she mumbled, "but I thought you guys took care of them." Leo didn't reply right away, prompting her to elaborate. "You're the ones that saved the city, I've heard of you. You fight crime and stuff, you're the city's secret hero-dudes."

Leo and I shared a surprised glance. This girl was obviously not a local, which meant if she'd heard of the Foot's defeat, the turtles weren't unknown as the city's secret protectors.

My cuoriosity got the best of me. "Where are you from?" I asked her.

"Canada," J.T. replied. "A few hours north of Montana."

 _Holy shit._ I nudged Leo playfully. "Sounds like we're famous!"

A small smile of excitement he couldn't quite conceal peeked from beneath Leo's tough and sophisticated pretense for a moment. "Look," he said, turning his eyes on J.T. once more. "Shredder may be behind bars but the Foot will do anything to rise to power again, which means you're still in danger. If anyone knows that you know us, they will not hesitate to go after you, so you have two options: leave and pretend none of this ever happened or help us stop them. You'll be safer helping us, we'll be able to protect you and teach you to fight if you want. But if not, you're on your own. We can't spend our time following you around making sure the Foot doesn't kidnap you."

J.T. looked horrified. "I'm not even gonna _be_ here that long. I'm leaving in, like, two weeks to go to Oregon." She snorted humourlessly. "I guess now, that's not soon enough."

A disappointed frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. Figures that the only decent person I come across in this city isn't here to stay. _Just my luck._

Leo shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's up to you."

I watched him oddly. _Why is he acting so intimidating?_

"Sorry," Jaz said, shrugging her shoulder and smiling apologetically. "But I really don't think this is something I wanna be involved in. No offence...But I think I'll be fine on my own. My mom calls me every few hours and if I don't pick up she'll instantly send a search and rescue, so...thanks, but...no thanks. Sorry."

I noticed the stress pouring off of him immediately evaporate. Leo actually seemed relieved as he dipped his head in understanding. "I'll take you home, then; answer some questions, if you want."

Surprise bloomed across J.T.'s face. "Oh, we're taking the sewer?" Her nose wrinkled distastefully but she nodded nonetheless. "Cool."

* * *

 **AN: Surprise mothafuckas it didn't actually take me forever to update this time lol**

 **My girl J.T. has finally met her mans but she don't know it yet lol I can't decide if I want to write the next chapter in her POV where Leo walks her home (basically a fuckton of dialogue similar to when Raiya fist met him) or keep Raiya's POV and write about her training/hanging out with the turtles ¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯ I'd like to hear your guys' opinions!**

 **As a side note,** **I think I'm about to get sucked up into the tornado from Wizard of Oz because I stg the wind here is about 10000 knots**

 **AND**

 **It was SNOWING today**

 **I wish I was kidding. I don't think the weather has been above 12°C since last August. I feel like I'm living in the North Pole, I did not sign up for this why tf aren't we doing anything about climate change ?**

 **Speaking of, if any of you are on Instagram, please go like the post on the tentree account to help them plant 1 million trees!**

 **Okay I'm done**

 **SIKE haha**

 **ENDGAME COMES OUT TONIGHT AND I AM NOT OKAY BECAUSE IM NOT SEEING IT UNTIL LIKE NEXT WEEK AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY SO NO SPOILERS PLEASE OK THANK YOU**

 **Anywho please please review! I spent a lot of time working on this to try to make up for my shitty updating lately lol I'd love to hear your guys' opinions/feedback regarding J.T.! :D**


	12. 10 Something Cool

R

* * *

The air was still.

I inhaled. _Sweat, sewage, candle smoke, metal._

Exhaled, released tension in my shoulders, neck, arms.

I moved, spinning sharply and striking out. Displaced air fanned against me as he moved. _There you are_.

I didn't hesitate, tracking his soundless movement and striking again, again. The air hissed and whispered against my skin, but I was never quick enough to understand it before he was gone again, dodging all my attacks.

I gritted my teeth, straining to see past the threads of the dark blindfold.

"Don't try to see," Splinter chastised almost instantly. I lunged forward, swinging my arm toward his voice but the air was empty.

"Listen."

Suppressing my frustration, I moved again, dancing after him. Feeling his movements translated through the shifting of the air between us.

"Listen," he repeated sharply, "to your mind." He was right in front of me, dodging every one of my moves while still lecturing. "How will you fight an enemy in darkness?" He demanded. "You cannot rely only on your sight in battle."

I could feel the brothers—save for Leo—watching from the sidelines, still and quiet. Their gaze was a burning presence in the back of my head—an incessant reminder.

" _Listen_ , Raiya."

I struck right at him, but he so effortlessly evaded my attacks it was like he simply didn't exist past his voice.

"Sutoppu."

He must've sensed my building annoyance.

"I'm not fast enough," I said, clenching my hands partway into fists. "By the time I can tell where you are, you're already gone."

"It takes practice," Splinter responded softly. "Expanding your senses is not easy. You must be aware of where your enemy _is_ , not where he _was_. You understand how to fight, you understand how to move. Now understand that your enemy is not stationary. He doesn't wait for you."

I bowed. "Hai, Sensei." I straightened, exhaled, expanded my mind outward and into the training circle. The brothers remained in the same spot, occupying that same space in my mind with a burning presence. And there was Splinter, right in front of me.

"Hajime."

I feinted, then spun and kicked outward. I didn't stop, following through with my spin, carrying the momentum into a quick blow Splinter dodged as well. I was still striking at thin air, unable to land a blow on the rat. Though such a feat _without_ a blindfold was nothing short of a miracle as I'd learned over the years, I still couldn't help my disappointment. Air rushed over my skin and through my hair as I moved without pause, striking repeatedly, trying to predict Sensei's movements.

Splinter dove and I acted on my instincts, quickly spinning around without a second thought, striking at an empty space that was suddenly occupied and then I was stopped, Splinter's paw grasping my hand, effectively preventing the blow he wouldn't have been able to dodge.

I didn't need my sight to know he was smiling proudly at me.

"Again."

••• 影の啓示 •••

I heard Leo return to the lair before I saw him. He moved silently as ever, but the anger in his voice when he called for Mikey made me tense up immediately. I spun around in my chair at the monitor wall, catching Leo's gaze immediately.

 _Don't you dare,_ I warned, narrowing my eyes at him threateningly as Mikey peeked his head out fearfully from his room. The youngest turtle didn't deserve his brother's harsh rage, the incident with J.T. was an honest accident.

Leo clenched his jaw but I sensed a semblance of acquiescence in his blue eyes. Satisfied, I returned to my homework displayed on one of the tv screens, Red perched on my head, chewing and pawing at my hair tie. I could hear their hushed conversation across the lair, and I tried my best to focus on completing the work in front of me instead of attempting to decipher their words. Though I _really_ wanted to know what Leo was saying—an unavoidable urge, Raphael told me, developed between siblings.

"He's not getting mad at him."

I glanced up at Raphael, who'd clearly just returned from a long hour in the holey wall's workout rooms. "You stink."

He ignored my teasing. "He's just telling him to be more careful, nothing he hasn't heard before."

"Good. It was an accident."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk. "Did she freak out?"

I shrugged, tapping absently at the keyboard. "A little. She was pretty cool about it after I explained some stuff though." I sighed. "She's leaving the city in a few weeks, so there's nothing to worry about."

"You know her or something?"

I frowned in confusion and met his gaze. "No."

"Then why are you depressed?"

I bit my lip and shrugged again. "I dunno. She seemed like someone I might like." I glanced at the monitor and my excessive social homework _. God, I need a break_. "Hey."

Raph looked up at me. "What?"

I grinned. "Wanna see something cool?"

He eyed me warily, and I took that as a yes.

"Come on." I pushed the skateboard chair back and stood up, transferring Red from my head to my hoodie pocket. With a resigned sigh, he followed me to the holey wall. By now, Mikey had retreated to his room and Leo was likely talking with Splinter about J.T.. Donnie, as always, was working on his secret project in the garage.

I looked up at the workout room I was too short to reach on my own, then at Raphael expectantly. He smiled and helped me up, following a few moments later. His amusement was soon replaced with horror.

"Tell me you haven't been practicing while we were gone," he demanded, watching as I began lifting weights off the bench press. When I didn't answer right away, he stormed over, stopping me from grabbing another weight off the barbell. His eyes were dangerously fierce. "You _know_ how dangerous it is to bench without a spotter!"

I gave him possibly the most shit-eating grin ever. "I know, I haven't."

He faltered, watching me with rage and confusion.

"Casey was my spotter; I went to the gym with him a few times." Raphael was still glaring at me. I rolled my eyes at his attitude toward Casey. "I wasn't gonna let all the training we did go to waste while you were gone, I need to keep it up. And if I went with Liv she would've been super suspicious." He was still upset behind the mask of false anger he wore, so I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him firmly, effectively lifting his mood.

"Don't worry about Casey," I murmured, lowering myself back to my feet. "He's got nothing on you."

"Still don't like him," Raph muttered. He jerked his chin to the barbell. "What are you lifting?"

"One-ten." I returned to lifting weights off. "I think you guys would get along well."

He scoffed and helped me switch around the weights. I knew he didn't like Casey in the slightest, if only for the simple fact that he was human while Raph was not. And no amount of reassurance from me seemed to convince him that his being a mutant made me like him any less. It, of course, didn't help that Casey had at one point been interested in me and that I actually enjoyed his company, but he also happened to be one of my only friends, and a good one at that. And our friendship wasn't something I was willing to uproot.

"You sure you can lift this?" Raph leaned his forearms on the barbell as I laid down on the bench. "You were benching a hundred when we left."

"That was a month ago," I shot back, smiling up at him.

Raphael grinned crookedly and stood up. "Ready?"

I wrapped my fingers around the cool metal barbell and shifted my body on the bench. "Are you?"

He laughed and I grinned, lifting the weights off the stand and making sure to extend my arms completely before lowering it to my chest. Raphael kept count, and I managed four reps before Raph had to grab the barbell and help me get it back on the stand.

"Killed it," I announced breathlessly, earning myself another laugh from the mutant. I reached my hand up, wiggling my fingers until Raph grasped it and pulled me up off the bench, right into a breathless, unexpected kiss.

"Ew, dudes! I thought you were bench pressing!"

I froze.

Raphael pulled away instantly. "Mikey!"

••• 影の啓示 •••

 **AN: I'm so sorry it's been so long since the last update, and also I'm really sorry for the short chapter, I just wanted to give you guys something!**

 **I decided to forgo J.T.'s POV for this chapter mostly because it would have been really similar to when Raiya and Leo first met and it seemed kinda useless to do that. Plus, Raiya is still the main character and J.T. will have many more appearances later on (soon)!**

 **I finally finished high school you guys and I refuse to look at my exam marks because I'm scared BUT I didn't die wearing heels all day but I got a killer blister that's still not healed so that's fun. Also, I feel like I'm living through a second winter here in motherfucking Canada because it hasn't stopped raining for literally two weeks and nobody knows when the fuck it's going to stop so pray for me because the next two months are all I have left before it starts to snow again. Bonus: I am getting sick I can feel it**

 **Lmao anyways that's my TED Talk for today**

 **Thanks a ton to my reviewers you're the best! Keep reviewing! :D**


	13. 11 Falling

R

* * *

 _I'm falling._

 _I'm always falling, the air always sharp against my skin as I hurtle toward the Sacks tower's spire, crumbled and suspended between two adjacent buildings so high above New York City._

 _And the white bars lining the spire are always just out of reach. With blood pouring from the stinging punctures on my cheek and my head dizzy and heavy all at once with the sensation of falling, I always miss them._ Always _._

 _I can never reach it. I just keep falling_ — _past Shredder as he holds the canister of mutagen triumphantly and watches me._

 _Blood roars in my ears and my whole mind turns leaden with fear, painfully compressing my head. My stomach rises into my throat and I close my eyes, even though it never helps._

 _Over the wind, I can just hear the brothers shouting my name, and I always open my eyes to see them, hoping every time that maybe I'll see them instead of the pavement rushing toward me. But I'm always wrong, and it's always right before the impact and I always,_ always _scream even though I know it's without sound and my ears and my head and why do I always fall and why can I never reach that bar and it's_ right there _and the pavement the—_

I woke up, my eyes shooting open with a sharp breath. I looked around wildly, my heart hammering uncontrollably. I exhaled slowly, trying to stop my body from shaking.

Raphael's arm tightened around me, sensing my distress despite still being partially asleep. He drew me back against his plastron, solid and warm and safe, and pressed his face against my neck. He inhaled deeply and murmured against my skin. "Y'okay?"

I threaded my fingers through his—searching for an anchor. And I lied. "Yeah."

Raph brought me closer so I could feel his steady heartbeat and kissed the soft skin of my neck once, twice. Feeling his heart always helped slow my breathing; it was another anchor.

He squeezed my hand, and with our hearts matched in pace and his arms around me protectively, I felt myself falling once again; though he never let me drift far from his side.

••• 影の啓示 •••

In an instant, the world went cold. I shifted and turned in search of warmth, but it was gone. My eyes opened slowly, tiredly; then all at once when I realized the sky outside my window was orange and red with the soon-to-rise sun.

I shot upward, throwing the covers off of me and just about screaming in alarm.

Raphael was just as scared. " _Fuck_ Em!" At the sound of my sudden movement, he jumped and turned his head to look at me.

Relief coursed through me.

"Oh my–" I collapsed back onto my bed with a racing pulse. Seeing his figure hunched over my desk when I was expecting my room to be empty made my heart leap right up my throat. "You scared the shit out of me," I admitted breathlessly, staring up at the ceiling.

"You shot up like a fuckin' demon possessed you," he retorted.

"I thought you were gone."

Raphael didn't say anything, and when I looked over at him he was staring down at the desktop, jaw clenched.

 _Damn it._ "It's okay," I said. "I know. I just wanted to ask if you could take Red with you. He can't stay here all alone and he can't come to school with me."

He nodded and abandoned whatever he'd been doing to check the sugar glider's cage. Despite the cold, I shuffled out of bed to see for myself what it was. There was a blank slip of paper resting on the corner of my desk, along with one of my pens.

My heart fluttered.

"I was gonna leave you a note so you wouldn't freak out when you woke up," Raph muttered, his voice carrying across my room.

I smirked. "Beat you to it." I pulled a drawer open to return the unused paper to its place but hesitated and decided to leave it and the pen where they lay if only because it made me smile.

Raph came up behind me, his presence filling a whispering space in the back of my mind.

"You know I don't mean to make you feel guilty all the time," I began, my voice low. I spun around to look at him. "I know you can't stay. I just...don't really think before I say dumb shit like that."

He grinned. "Yeah, I know."

"Shut up," I laughed, nodded to Red curled up in his hand. "You know when to feed him?"

His expression morphed into a smirk. "Who's the mother now?" He teased.

I raised my eyebrows, still waiting for an answer.

He rolled his eyes. "I got it," he insisted. "Don't worry."

My gaze fell to the tiny, still-sleeping glider held carefully in his palm. "I'll stop by on my way to the zoo to pick him up," I said, looking up at Raphael. "Try not to lose him 'til then, 'kay?"

"Try not to get lost," he shot back smugly. That bastard still hadn't let go of the time he had to save my ass from the Footclan at the docks two years ago.

"You're such a dick."

He laughed and bent down to kiss me.

"I gotta go," he said, his face remaining only inches from my own.

I stole another kiss before he could pull away, lifting myself onto my toes and curling my fingers around the top edge of his plastron. Almost immediately, he wrapped his free arm around my waist in response, bringing me closer. Heat bloomed in my chest and spread like a wildfire. Then it was over just as quickly as it'd began.

Because the sun was rising.

And he couldn't stay.

And even though I knew that, I couldn't help my feelings of distress and the painful constrictions in my chest that suddenly accompanied every breath. But I did my best to ignore it—convince both myself and Raphael that it didn't exist past my desperate imagination.

He backed away, allowing the space between us to fill with cold air. Reaching my open window, he paused and spun around with a smile. "I'll see you later."

And then he was gone.

And I watched the sky light up in a shower of gold only a few moments later.

••• 影の啓示 •••

 **AN: I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. I've been neglecting this story along with all my others for way too long. Chapters have been coming along so slowly and I've been blaming it on writer's block, which is still true to some extent, but it's also because I haven't really been _trying_ to write anything. I've just been waiting for inspiration to hit me instead of sitting at my computer and telling myself I need to write. I finally started working on this chapter last week, but procrastinated by making all new covers and posters and beginning to design Raiya's kunoichi outfit until I finally ran out of shit to do and told myself I had to write this. Hence why it's lowkey shitty lol.**

 **Anyway, I just want to tell everyone that I'm going to start _really_ trying now. I'm taking this year off of school and I'm gonna be working almost full time but I'm gonna try to spend all my free time writing. Pinky swear.**

 **So, with that out of the way, let's now take a moment to appreciate how freaking CUTE the first part of this chapter is! I mean. come on. did y'all not die a little reading it? Lmao I just about had a mf heart attack writing that shit. The rest of it is kinda bad but whatever you guys deserve a chapter.**

 **So while I was procrastinating this past week I thought maybe I should have, like, "official songs" to go with TSS and TSR which are basically just a song that symbolizes Raiya and Raph's relationship throughout the story. And so I found one for TSS (Stargazing by Severo) but now I need one for TSR and I'd love your guys' help! If you come across a song that you think fits Raiya and Raph's relationship so far in TSR, feel free to share it with me and I'll 100% consider it! So far, I've found two that could work:**

 **"Another Day" by Dabin & Inukshuk ft. Nevve**

 **"All Good" by Capital Kings ft. Hollyn**

 **But I don't really love them or think they do a perfect job so I haven't made a decision yet. I personally love EDM but any genre can work as long as the lyrics fit!**

 **ONE LAST THING! I'd also love some help designing Raiya's kunoichi outfit! I've already done some sketches (sleeveless, plain black one-piece suit with a corset design and a hood) but I'd love some more ideas! I'm welcoming all drawings, descriptions etc. if anyone is interested! You will be credited if I use your idea, of course :)**

 **Yikes that's long haha**

 **Love you guys! :D**


	14. 12 Disoriented

R

* * *

There was half an hour left of my shift by the time Matias and I finished with the glider colony. Thanks to my class schedule including a last-block spare, I got to leave school early and thus have longer shifts at the zoo, which was necessary if I was going to be an assistant keeper. Though I was hardly going to complain about having longer shifts because this promotion just gave me the opportunity to interact more with animals than people, which was a literal miracle.

Despite my job being to take care of the gliders, the lack of an exhibit made the list of to-do's much shorter. Mat stretched it out as much as he could, taking the time to teach me things he said I "don't need to know yet" and spending a lot of extra time introducing Red to the colony. But with thirty minutes left before we could clock out and Lauren's strict No Leaving Early Policy, Mat decided we'd best use our time promoting the new glider exhibit.

So he grabbed one of the gliders from their temporary enclosure and we headed out into the borderline chaos of the Tropic Zone. I made sure Red was securely cupped in my hands before leaving the safety of the backroom.

"Is it not a Monday?" Mat whispered to me, obviously confused. I kept forgetting he'd only been in New York City for a few days and at CPZ even less.

"Yup," I replied, closing the door behind us. "Nothing stops them."

"I have noticed."

We decided to stay where we were as it was out of the way of everyone entering the building and one of the most spacious areas we'd probably be able to find.

Red began squirming impatiently in my hands, and when I uncurled my fingers he instantly clambered up my arm, curling himself close to my neck and working his claws at my shirt's collar.

Mat's chosen glider, Luz, was unsure about her surroundings and remained a tight ball of dusky fur in his hands for a minute before poking her head up and investigating. She was slightly eccentric and very curious, so it wasn't long before she was crawling up and down his arms and attracting the attention of just about every young child entering the building.

Despite her curiosity, Luz was unfamiliar with the idea of being passed around for children to hold and pet and made a point to remain far from their reach. When most of them realized this, the kids were quick to hurry past us, dragging their parents along into the bright, canopied space of chirping birds.

I felt relieved when I had space to breathe again.

"Is it always like this?" Matias asked, his voice low so only I could hear him.

I shook my head, petting Red to keep him calm. "Mondays are usually pretty chill. But this feels like peak on a Friday." Which still didn't come close to the busyness of weekends, but was unusual for today, when kids were hurrying home from school to do homework and most others were only just getting off work.

He chuckled. "Maybe it is because today is very nice."

I frowned, thinking about how between school, work and taking the sewers, I'd been cooped up indoors all day, unable to enjoy the sun and warm weather.

"There are twelve minutes before we can leave," Mat said, looking up from his watch. "Would you like to go outside?"

 _Twelve minutes?_ "Heck yes, let's do it."

He smiled and gestured for me to take the lead. Keeping Red close, I entered the canopy zone and took an immediate right. Like an extreme shortcut, the path led straight to the exit but was chained off to ensure the zoogoers didn't go the wrong way and leave right after they walked in. I stepped over the chain and followed the small group of people leaving.

The humidity noticeably dropped when we walked through the doors, but the change in temperature was hardly discernible.

Lucy, one of the sea lion handlers, smiled and waved to us from her place within the sea lion enclosure. Smiling, I waved back.

"Who is that?" Mat murmured.

"Lucy." I stopped walking, finding a nice place for us to stand partially in the shade. "She's one of the sea lion keepers. She's really nice."

"Ah," he lifted a finger in recollection. "I think I remember meeting her."

"Yeah, she's always here. She does a lot of training with them."

At the moment, it looked like she was cleaning up their enclosure. Because, despite the signs and constant reminders, children still managed to throw things into just about every exhibit at the zoo. And the huge sea lion exhibit in the middle was apparently the most popular for said garbage-throwing. And now that we were nearing 5 o'clock when no more people would be allowed entry to the zoo, the keepers usually started cleaning. Luckily, Matias and I didn't yet have an enclosure to clean up garbage in.

A few people leaving the Tropic Zone noticed Luz and Red and stopped to inquire curiously about them before continuing with their exploration of the zoo.

I glanced up at CPZ's huge clock to check the time, anxious to leave and see Raphael. _Four minutes_. We would head back in to return Luz and clock out soon.

I returned my attention to actually doing my job when I heard the Tropic Zone doors swing open again. The fake smile fixed to my face slipped momentarily when I saw J.T. wearing a red tank top and shorts with a black ball cap on her head and the same backpack slung on her shoulders. She noticed me a moment later, her blue eyes widening and her feet faltering as they changed direction to head toward us, a shy smile on her face.

"Hey," she said, "I'm sorry...I completely forget your name."

I grinned. "Raiya. How are you doing? You got home okay, I guess." I was trying to be as discreet about it as I could with Mat standing next to me. _Oh shit_.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Disoriented, but I'm better now. I had no idea you worked here, that's kinda sweet."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." I nodded and gestured to him. "This is my friend Matias. Mat, this is J.T.."

He smiled and inclined his head. "Hi."

"Hi, is that another glider-thing?" She asked, referring to Luz who clung to his forearm.

"Sugar glider, yes." He scooped Luz into his palm. "Her name is Luz."

Her smile widened. "She's so cute. Did I miss them? I didn't see them anywhere."

"No, the exhibit isn't ready yet," I replied. "We're just trying to get them used to interacting with people before it opens, which'll be..." I glanced at Mat for help.

He shrugged. "In two weeks, I think."

"Oh, well, I'll probably be gone by then." Jaz looped her fingers around her backpack straps and shifted her weight. "But if there's anything else before then, I can totally do it. I don't have a lot planned and I wanna see New York as much as I can."

"Have you been to The High Line?"

Instantly, she brightened with excitement. "Not yet, but it's on my list! I have most of the basic tourist landmarks, but not a lot of food places which is weird because this place is notorious for food and I've been dying to try everything I've seen on TV."

"I can help you with that," I offered, petting Red. "I've lived here since I was twelve. What do you have so far?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together but Matias interjected before she could form a reply.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to return Luz," he said. "It is almost five."

I caught the hint quickly. "I'm so sorry, I forgot." I turned to J.T.. "I have to go clock out and grab my stuff, but if you wanna wait, I have something for you and I can totally help you with your list."

"Oh, sure," she smiled and looked around. "I don't have anywhere to be."

••• 影の啓示 •••

J.T. was leaning against the acrylic-glass fence of the sea lion enclosure, watching the animals lounge in the sun while she waited for me. I hurried over, Red perched on my shoulder and a tracker grasped in one hand.

"Hey," I called, causing her head to turn. "Thanks for waiting, I wanted to give you this." I held my hand out, the small key-fob-like device dangling from my finger. "In case you're ever in trouble. It sends your location to the turtles when you push the button."

"Oh, wow, thank you," she grinned. "Leo gave me one yesterday when he dropped me off." She patted her pocket. "I have it with me right now cuz this city kinda makes me nervous and if something happened to me, my mom would probably put me in one of those hamster balls for the rest of my life."

Laughing, I swung my bag off my shoulders to throw the tracker back inside. "With the whole 'we can't protect you' macho act he put on, I didn't know if he would."

"Yeah, is he always like that?" She asked, heading toward the exit.

"No," I shook my head. "Only at first. After that, he loosens up. You probably won't believe me, but he's actually a lot of fun."

Jaz lowered her voice as we walked past a group of people leaving the zoo as well. "Honestly, I still can't believe I met them on my third day. I've heard of the secret heroes here, but I had _no idea_."

"I know." I took a turn off the main path. "I dunno if you wanna hop into the sewers again, but that's the way I'm taking home."

"Oh, is Leo...?"

"No, it's his brother, Raphael. He's my best friend." It wasn't a lie. And I didn't want to completely scare her after only learning of their existence yesterday.

"Oh, no I'll come with you. It's not as bad down there as I thought it'd be. Plus, you still haven't told me the best place to get some pizza around here."

 _Oh my God, I love her_. "That would be Prince Street," I replied, heading over to the manhole cover sitting in the concrete.

She repeated the name to herself slowly while typing it into her phone. "Man, I'm _so_ pumped to crush some New York pizza." She shook her head. "I see that stuff on TV all the time. Also, is it usually, like, thirty degrees in October here? Because I did not pack for this."

 _What?_ I stopped next to the manhole. "No, it's usually around sixty-five."

J.T.'s jaw dropped. "You're joking." Then a light bulb seemed to go off in her head. "Oh my God, I keep forgetting you guys use Farheneit here."

 _Ohhh!_ I grinned. "I was so confused," I admitted, laughing a little at our mutual confusion. "I seriously thought you were crazy. Thirty degrees _Fahrenheit_ means snow."

"And thirty degrees _Celsius_ is the hottest it ever gets where I'm from, which would feel like eighty-five to you, I think. We usually start getting snow in October."

"What?"

She nodded. "I packed for cold weather, not July. I can't wear anything like this after August."

I opened my mouth to reply but a vibration in my pocket got my attention and I remembered that Raph was waiting for me, probably listening to me talk from the other side of the manhole.

J.T. noticed. "What?" She asked, her smile losing some of its carefree joy.

"Sorry, I just remembered I'm keeping him waiting." I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching before kneeling down and calling Raph's name. Immediately, the manhole cover was lifted out of the way and I jumped down.

Raphael stood in front of me, looking confused. "Who're you talking to?"

"Don't freak out," I said, spinning back around as J.T. carefully climbed down the ladder. I felt him stiffen and I had to smack his arm to remind him to put the manhole back in its place once Jaz had gotten down.

She stood next to me, obviously cautious of Raph. "He seems scary but he's not," I whispered to her. She nodded in reply.

"Raph, this is J.T., she met Leo and Mikey yesterday."

"I'm the one who fainted," she amended dryly. "Twice."

Raphael smirked. "Heard about that, how're you doin'?"

She exhaled, a smile falling into place on her lips. "Good."

"Good. I'm Raphael, you can call me Raph. Leo probably told you I'm the violent one."

J.T. was frozen with shock, unable to form a reply.

I rolled my eyes at the turtle's complete lack of social skills. "That's a really good first impression, Raph," I grumbled sarcastically. "Good job."

••• 影の啓示 •••

 **AN: I tried my best to get this finished yesterday but I couldn't and then I overestimated how much free time I'd have today, which is why I'm finally releasing it at midnight lol sorry guys!**

 **I had my first training shift at my job which was very stressful and then I had to go to one of my extracurriculars and since I've gotten home I've been trying to finish this off. I'm not sure if I like how it turned out, especially the interaction between Raiya and J.T., but I really just wanted to get this out to you guys and also get a move-on with this story.**

 **So If y'all don't know, J.T.'s faceclaim is Danielle Campbell :) As soon as I saw a picture of her I knew it was the J.T. I'd envisioned. I'm really excited for her's and Raiya's friendship to develop and also for her to start not hating Leo lmao but I'm still not sure what kind of chapters to write in her POV so feel free to leave me some suggestions and I'll definitely check them out!**

 **I love you guys and please review! :D**


	15. 13 Tell You Later

R

* * *

"Peter Pan Bakery is the best place for donuts," I said, hopping over a particularly large puddle in the sewer tunnel. "And Union Square has a pretty cool market if you're into that stuff."

J.T. gasped excitedly. "Like a farmer's market?"

I frowned and glanced at her in confusion. "What's that?"

"It's a market out on the streets where tons of vendors set up tables and sell stuff like fresh fruit and jewelry, most of it's homemade. There's a ton of them where I'm from, you can find the coolest stuff there."

"Oh, well yeah," I shrugged thoughtfully, "I guess it's like that."

"Oh my gosh," she mused, typing the two destinations into her phone. "I'm _so_ excited to do all this! What else is there?"

I began rattling off more of my favourite places, like Chelsea Market, Wave Hill, the Cloisters, paddle boarding at Pier 66, and spending a day at Rockaway Beach. Raphael trailed behind us, probably bored out of his mind listening to us. I'd asked if he wanted to meet me later tonight outside my apartment, but he insisted on walking with me to 'make sure I didn't get lost again.' Two years and he still hadn't let it go.

I was glad to have him there, even if J.T. might not feel the same. He always walked with me after work; it'd be too strange without him.

"You guys can still go to the beach in October?" Jaz asked in amazement.

I nodded, amused by her blatant awe. "Usually there's still a few warm days." October in the city was already cold enough for me, I couldn't imagine waking up to snow every morning, as Jaz said was the usual forecast for her around this time.

"Is it a long drive?" She asked.

"Depends where you're staying."

She hesitated for a moment, hardly long enough to notice. "Midtown west," she supplied, eyebrows drawing together. "Upper west kinda area. Y'know?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "I live in that area, too, actually. It's almost an hour drive, me and my sister usually take a cab. If you tip them enough beforehand they can usually get you there a little faster."

"An _hour?_ " J.T. made a face. "That's gonna have to be a day trip if I manage to fit it in."

"If you live in _Canada_ and go to _lake_ beaches, I'd say Rockaway is worth it. There's lots of things you can stop to do on the drive there." I proceeded to name all of mine and Liv's favourite food places and roadside shops we stopped at on the way and she happily added them to the evergrowing list on her phone.

"I'm gonna gain _at least_ ten pounds by the end of this trip," she laughed.

I laughed along with her. "Welcome to New York City, baby. You're gonna love every minute here."

Raphael scoffed. "You hate this place."

J.T. covered her mouth to conceal another laugh, glancing between the two of us.

"Shut up!" I spun around to punch him but he caught my fist with a teasing grin. "I don't like it because I've lived here for so long and I've already experienced everything. Plus: people are jerks and the Footclan sucks." I shot J.T. a reassuring smile. "You'll love it cuz it's your first time; I gave you _all_ the best places to visit and when." I waved a hand at the turtle behind us, feigning distaste, "ignore him."

The Canadian girl smiled brightly, her amused eyes flickering back to the turtle and then to me once more. "How'd you guys meet? I–If you don't mind me asking."

Instantly, my heart caught on the memories of that summer two years ago and I couldn't help my nostalgic smile. I shook my head fondly. "When I was thirteen I got jumped in an alley walking home from school."

J.T. gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth in blatant horror, blue-green eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "It was scary, but Leo saved me before anything bad happened. At that time, he and his brothers weren't really known around the city. There were stories of a mysterious person showing up at night to save people then disappear. It was just Leo leaving the sewers every night to help people."

"And he calls _me_ reckless," Raph grumbled, turning to Jaz. "We weren't allowed to go aboveground, but he did anyway for _years_."

The girl absorbed each and every one of our words like a sponge, waiting for more.

I nodded. "That's how I found them. People didn't believe me when I told them someone saved me in the middle of the day and then just disappeared, so I started doing some _mad_ research."

"Notebooks," Raph supplied. "Tons of 'em."

J.T. raised an eyebrow in surprise.

I did my best to quell the embarrassment I felt. "It was a bit over the top," I admitted. "Anyway, two summers ago on the Fourth of July, I was out late and saw some guys robbing a jewelry store. I was pretty desperate to find the vigilante so I followed them, which was dumb, but they went up a fire escape and on the roof, I saw Leo tying them up to leave for the police." I could just about laugh at the recollection. "He barely recognized me, but said he'd meet me later to talk. We met up for a few nights, he lied and said he was the only one, and he made me promise not to tell my sister. Then for whatever reason, he thought I was working for the Foot and knocked me out and took me to the lair and I woke up the next day ready to kill him." I spread my arms out, gesturing to the sewer. "Then he brought me down here and I met everyone and Sensei Splinter told me their story, which you've already heard from Leo." I shrugged, glancing at Raph in case I missed anything. "And...that's it."

J.T.'s smile fell almost imperceptibly. "Oh," she said, "so you guys are just friends?"

Before I could say anything, Raphael snorted. I could sense his brimming sarcasm before he even spoke. "More like forced partners."

I rolled my eyes. "He's honestly lucky I haven't killed him yet," I said. "He's such a dick. He literally stalked me for a whole week when I first met everyone because he didn't trust me."

"And I've been stuck with her whiny ass ever since."

The poor girl looked so confused I immediately cracked a huge grin.

"We're kidding; only, like, half of that is true," I laughed. "We've been together two years, but he did stalk me for a week, and he _was_ a huge jerk. _And_ ," I spun around and jabbed his shoulder, "he _is_ lucky I haven't killed him yet."

Raphael smirked at me before focusing his attention on Jaz for her reaction. I could feel the nerves and fear radiating from him—the self-conscious thoughts that were undoubtedly tearing through his mind.

But she was smiling like she'd just witnessed the heart-warming happy ending to her favourite movie. "You guys are _so_ cute," she gushed. "I didn't want to assume anything, but..." her eyes shone with something like excitement and mischief when they met mine. Her voice lowered. "I'll tell you later."

 _Tell me later? Holy shit. Did I just make a friend?_ Somehow, my grin managed to grow wider. _I just made a friend._

Raphael stopped silently at a ladder leading up to a manhole. After years spent navigating these tunnels—especially this area—I knew exactly where we were. Just a few blocks from my apartment.

"Oh," J.T. tipped her head back to look up at the exit. "I, uh...is there another one three blocks west of here? I kinda gave Leo the wrong address yesterday because I was a little paranoid," Jaz admitted sheepishly.

Raph nodded. "Sure, that was our next stop."

I glanced at him, shocked and confused as we kept walking. _That entrance is right outside my apartment_. Then something almost forgotten fell into place and I almost didn't believe it.

"Jaz?"

She turned to me, awaiting my question.

"When did you move into your place?"

"Uh," she chewed her lip as she thought about it. "Friday. Around three, why?"

 _That's when Liv mentioned the new neighbour. Right after Casey's hockey game._ "At Mira Place?"

Her eyes widened. "Yeah," she said slowly. "How do you know?"

"I live there," I said. "Room two-seventy-A. My sister mentioned we got a neighbour on Friday."

"Oh my god," her face lit up, all the fear dissipating in an instant. "Yeah! That's me!"

"The hell are the odds?" Raph mumbled.

"Dude, that's so cool!" Jaz cried, an excited bounce in her step. "For a second, I was worried you guys were stalking me!"

I laughed. "No, Leo wasn't kidding when he promised to leave you alone. But me and my sister are making breadsticks and alfredo tonight if you feel like some serious carb-loading."

J.T.'s jaw dropped. "Hell yeah, man, _breadsticks!?_ I'm down! What time?"

Liv and I didn't usually have a set time for dinner—we just winged it every night. So I guesstimated. "We eat late, so everything should be ready by six-thirty."

"Sounds good," she nodded, pulling her phone out. "I'll give you my number, though, and you can text me later if your sister is okay with it."

"Oh, don't worry, Liv's cool," I said, handing my phone to her and inputting my own contact into hers.

"I just..." she shrugged and we swapped phones again, "don't wanna intrude, or anything. Y'know."

Raphael laughed lightly. "Trust me, she'll be glad Em has a friend."

"Shut up," I mumbled in spite of the smile on my face. When I glanced at Jaz, her face was a mask of confusion yet again, eyebrows drawn together with a thoughtful frown.

"Who...?"

"Oh," I grinned, "That's just what this loser calls me." I lowered my voice and leaned a little closer, "I'll tell you later."

J.T. grinned.

••• 影の啓示 •••

 **AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so freaking long lol**

 **again**

 **But its okay at least I'm still writing and releasing chapters!.. just hella slow**

 **I got caught up writing a Sandlot fanfic then I started writing an Epic one and yeah. Neither are being posted because they're probs never gonna be finished lol BUT I FOUND AN OFFICIAL SONG FOR TSR**

 **DRUMROLLLLL**

 **"Edge of the World" by PEAKS**

 **I'm 10000% in love with it so go give it a listen!**

 **ANYWAYS back to this story! The apartment building Mira Place mentioned in this chapter is totally made up! I found a real apartment in Manhattan back when I first started TSS that was perfect so I based Raiya and Liv's place off of it but I freaking lost it and have no idea how to find that particular apartment again so I made up a random place to go with what I remember and what's been written throughout the story. Also have no idea how apartment room numbers work ? (I don't get out much) I literally guessed, so if 270A is _not_ a room number that would exist pls help me fix it lmfao**

 **Hope you guys liked this chapter! :D**


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